The Rama Conflict
by Zoram Selrof
Summary: Sequel to The Desert Wraiths. Summer is about to come to Akihara City and the class 3-A students but things won't be quiet for much longer: an organization with new technology named Rama is eager to challenge the Net Saviors and their allies. Yet something is different about them: they don't seem to be really evil. In that case, what do they seek to achieve? Rated M for lemon.
1. Chapter 1: Shaky evening

**The Rama Conflict**

**By Zoram Selrof**

**Chapter 1: Shaky evening**

19:44 PM (Japan Time), Friday June the 10th, 2009…

"… Really… Time flies by! Next week we'll know the results of our final exams and vacations kick in! Next year… 4th grade! Aren't you amazed, Saito – niisan?"

"Yeah. It'd seem it was still yesterday when we ended 6th grade in elementary school…"

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… I guess Dragon must have one of his Confucius mottoes for that!"

"Huff. Don't bring up the newest banner."

Hikari Netto and Saito were talking while ordering their house's bedroom: both were sixteen years old by now and over a meter and sixty tall.

Netto's hairstyle kept on being his usual chestnut messy style.

Saito's was neatly combed instead.

Both of them wore the middle school uniform.

Two Link PETs were set on top of the desk and in front of the PC: Netto's was colored blue while Saito's was green.

Two Navis were projecting out of them and talking with them.

"Mwah, hah, hah… Sigma's warned ya!"

Sigma (the Navi on Netto's Link PET) was colored jet black and a red spheroid could be seen set on his chest area.

This spheroid seemed to be missing the armor over its mass.

His face had two red eyes and one shone brighter than the other: two horns, one of which was almost erased, were set on both sides of his head.

These horns added a "demonic" look to him.

Green data flows moved around his body and he held a massive black and green sword in his right hand which was easily over a meter tall.

Overall, he seemed to be tall and imposing.

"And Blood Shadow tells you to be quiet."

Blood Shadow (on Saito's Link PET) was about a meter and sixty in height or maybe closer to a meter and seventy: his main color of choice was red.

He sported black shades: a flock of messy reddish hair came out from behind the helmet given how it only covered the face and the front of the head: his ear-pads had two purple "V" letters drawn inside of them.

His armor had the purple letters "BS" engraved on the chest area while his legs were colored black and had two red stripes running down the legs' sides in a parallel manner.

His right forearm was covered by a device colored red coupled with a piece of it which was colored transparent red: a small indentation near the wrist had the same "BS" initials engraved there.

Where the hand would be, a large double-barreled shotgun emerged instead.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Come on, Blood! You can be a good joker from time to time, too! Pick a hammer and give it to Donkey Kong: he'll build ya a hut in just 12 hours, banana breaks included!" Sigma laughed.

"Very original." Blood Shadow drily replied.

"You guys… What's the plot?" A new voice asked.

"Uh! Commander Omega!" Both saluted.

A third Navi projected from Netto's Link PET.

He was about one meter and eighty tall.

He wore a red vest over his mainly black body and red armor over his forearms and boots.

Two golden circlets were set around his forearms and on his boots as well.

A blue jewel shaped like an inverted triangle was set on the forehead of his helmet which was emitting a cross-shaped flash.

His eyes' irises were blue and they displayed calm and concentration while long blond hair came out from behind him and reached all the way to the floor.

"There's no plot, Omega. Sigma is trolling us: as usual!"

"They should name him Troll Man." Saito laughed at his joke.

"Not bad. Then they should come up with Orc Man and Goblin Man as well!" Omega looked slightly amused today.

"There's nothing abnormal to report, sir. Nothing has happened during this week." Blood Shadow reported.

"Good work: I'm just passing by. I'll go check with the others: Boss is lately into the hobby of going for long walks to make exercise so I take care of checking up while Kir Osh runs all systems." Omega looked satisfied.

"Mwah, hah, hah… He must be making Mr. Shoes run for his Shoe – Teeth." Sigma laughed at the joke.

"Huff. Not with Vincent's parodies… Anyway… I'm off to visit good ol' Blues next. Good evening, guys."

"Later!" The twins replied.

"Really… We rummaged through everything to find old Battle Chips and we now have to fix the mess. I really should put them on the box."

"We aren't perfect, Netto – kun." Saito calmly replied.

"I knew that, niisan. I'm not complaining, either. I'm grown enough to settle this stuff asides." Netto shrugged.

"Guess Ijuuin – kun will soon start jogging across the public gardens each evening to make some good exercise!" Blood Shadow shrugged.

"Guess that." Netto shrugged.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… And when he finds Ayanokouji, he'll tell her to go collect daisies elsewhere 'cause IPC owns the flowers!" Sigma laughed.

"My, my! That'd be the ideal setting for a clash." Saito looked like he was up to something.

"Knowing ya, niisan… Ya are gonna call Miyabi and ask a favor outta him: he likes proving how sneaky he can be." Netto guessed.

"Who knows?" Saito teased.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Mr. Universe does: he has a magnifying lens to look closely at the surface!" Sigma suggested.

"By the way… Twilight. No clue?"

"No. They keep on giving us random addresses." Blood Shadow sighed.

"And the "Talon"? I thought they'd battle Nelaus again.

"Maybe they're bidding their time and improving their skills."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… I'll aim a spotlight at them imitating sunlight's power and they'll flee to the nest! 'Cause they're an owl!"

"Jeez. Just because their outfit is based on some yet-to-come-comic which will feature the "Court of Owls" that doesn't mean they're owls…"

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… "Oh! Foolish angel. Thou have been deluded by the power of the Demon Sword. Toss it into the Hell it came out from and bring peace to the land!"…"

"Huff. Oi, Sigma… See… That sounds like a _Tales of Symphonia_ parody to me." Netto sighed.

"Totally." Saito agreed on that.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Good catch, Hikari – sama~…"

"_Sama wa iranai_."

"Meijin – sama is gonna complain!"

"Jeez. _Sama wa iranai_!" Saito sighed.

19:52 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Good evening. It's me: Omega. Is Blues there?"

"Yeah. Good evening, Omega."

Omega was talking with Blues just in front of the IPC firewall: several automated programs and heavily armed Security Navis were stationed around the area.

"Are you expecting a Choina hack?" Omega asked while lifting his eyebrows in surprise.

"Not Choina, but Gabcom… We've been working on a new coding for a digital TV channel and we know they're trying to do one, too, to see who gets that company as a partner…" Blues told him in a hushed conspiracy tone.

"I see. Maybe you want us to lend you guys the "maze"?" Omega suggested while closing his right hand around the chin.

"That'd do wonders, really. When could you bring it?" Blues sounded interested.

"Well… It's easy to program and we have several copies floating around, so… I could be back with it in less than 2 hours: I firstly want to check out with the rest of the Net Saviors. When are you expecting the hack to happen? Do you have any estimates?"

"Our product should be ready by next week, so… I'm afraid they might try targeting us on Saturday or Sunday. But I see Saturday more probable: there's less staff and in Sunday the system is shut down to impede any external access." Blues whispered to Omega.

"Hum. Gotcha. Well then, I'll make sure to bring one copy over as soon as I finish checking on Isaac… Laika is at Sharo Nation, right?" Omega asked as if to confirm.

"Yeah. He went back four days ago: something popped out and he had to go back in a hurry: it'd seem they were in high need of Search Man's skills but they wanted Laika to be there, too." Blues confirmed.

"Hum. Curious." Omega muttered.

"Is security alright, Blues? Oh. Omega. Good evening." Ijuuin Enzan greeted with a smile as he opened his communications window.

"Enzan – sama: there are no abnormalities. I've double-checked to make sure only the trustable persons know about the project. Others are still charged with the new Link PET software."

"Fine. If Gabcom tries to come they'll have to leave with the tail between the legs." Enzan grinned.

"Say… Instead of confronting them… Will you allow me to give you guys an _original idea_?" Omega looked like he was up to something.

"Sure."

"Gotcha. I'll be back in less than 2 hours. One advice, Ijuuin: Lartes will soon be placing his "Pressure" Special Ability on you: he must be about to tell you that your diet is a hoax." Omega warned while lifting his eyebrows.

"Uh-oh." Enzan grimly muttered.

"Crap." Blues muttered.

"It'd seem I hit the bull's eye, even… The Arrow God must be helping me out. And I guess I got another weird glitch hence my mood." Omega joked.

"Arrow God…" Blues sounded skeptical.

"Well, well… You never know: maybe Ijuiin is Miyabi's idea of a "Lord's Container"!"

"Can't be…" Enzan groaned.

"Heh, heh, heh. O. K. I'll be back with the program in less than 2 hours, so… Be a good boy and wait! _Ciao_!"

Omega ran off while chuckling under his breath: Blues slapped his face in defeat while Enzan looked rather nervous.

"Oh come on… Miyabi… The guy placed a _ninja_ curse on me… No! Shadow Man and his weird speech… The guy's to blame! I know it!" He growled.

19:57 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Crap! What bad memory! Today was Bargain Day at Higureya: I wanted to get a 50% off Hell's Burner and I now remember! Luckily, he doesn't close until 20:30 PM… I can make it on time!"

"Ah… Nelaus… You can have somewhat of a short memory when you want to: did you know it?"

A guy was running down a street.

The guy was about the twins' age and maybe some inches taller than either Netto or Saito.

He had neatly arranged blonde hair which ended at his neck's base and his eyes' irises were green emerald.

His facial features were rather smooth and suave, thus making him stand out somehow.

He carried a Link PET arm strap: his Link PET was colored golden and purple: its emblem was the Alphabet letter "I" colored purple.

"I know, Isaac."

"Guess you don't."

Isaac, his Net Navi, had a unique design and was about a meter and eighty tall.

His face was young and looked like a guy on his teens: his eyes' irises were purple and they had a hint of amusement to them.

His helmet had a central ruby jewel over the forehead shaped like a cross having four triangle ends: eight lines radiated from the central of it and spread across its surface.

The helmet's main color was navy blue and it was also filled with small round and random green dots.

His ear-pads had a white edge and a reddish central body: the Alphabet "I" letter colored purple had been printed there.

His neck had a piece of armor shaped like the Alphabet "V" protecting its base before the start of the chest: it had a cyan edge which split it into two halves the insides of which were colored yellow.

His shoulders were slightly curved square pieces with brown edges, a central silver matrix and five bronze paws forming out of the southern edge which weren't even 5cm long.

His main body color was blue and a central thin purple line spread from the neck's base until his waist, being interrupted by his chest emblem which had the same design as that of his ear-pads.

Some small jade-colored pieces made of two triangles aiming in opposite directions fused at their base were set in columns along the sides of his upper body: none of them were taller than 2cm.

His waist had a belt with three converging rectangular stripes of white edges and black body.

These fused in a diamond having a gray body plus a repetition of his Navi emblem on its center.

His arms had purplish DNA imprints painted over their surface.

His forearm armor had a magenta matrix on them while his wrists were colored in a bronze color.

His hands were blue in color too and they had a circle with a white edge the insides of which depicted the Katana "I" colored purple: some "stars" were drawn at random over the background of the symbol.

His legs had some round dots set along their height which contained a drawing: the edge was brown, the core of it was purple and eight slightly curved lines painted red stretched from the core: the gaps between each one were colored blue.

The knees contained a circling bracelet colored mahogany and having those two fused triangles on the front colored golden.

The boots were colored purple and had an eight-pointed sapphire set on the inward side just below the ankle

Eight thin indigo lines spread from each spook of the sapphire and across the boot.

Overall he was very cool and looked advanced.

"Ironic! I have a chip implant on my brain and it doesn't help at all to keep my memories for little things: I got engrossed watching _Super Mario Sunshine_ over YouTube and this happens to me." Nelaus muttered with a hint of irony.

"That's because the chip implant isn't there to do that…" Isaac rolled his eyes.

"I knew that! I was being ironic. You, too, can be somewhat rigid when it comes to this stuff, like Blues or Search Man." Nelaus quickly replied as he increased his pace.

"Oh boy…"

Nelaus spotted the Higureya store about two street blocks ahead: three custom-looking motorbikes had been parked in front of it and Nelaus lifted his eyebrows.

"A crimson red Yamaha… An azure Honda… A brown Toyota… Higure – san got famous all of a sudden? I guess Ms. Glassy's horoscopes are smiling on him, for once…" Nelaus muttered with a hint of intrigue.

"Yeah. And he's got his fan-girl club, too." Isaac sarcastically added.

"Yeah, yeah…" Nelaus looked skeptical.

Three figures ran out of the store and climbed into the motorbikes: they ignited and ran off towards the south: Nelaus reached the store just as Higure Yamitarou came out: he looked panicked.

"… Uwa~h! M-m-m-m-my Rare Chips! De masu~! Thieves, de masu~! Someone please stop them, de masu~! Police, de masu~! Net Saviors, de masu~! Someone~!"

"What the… Those guys stole Higure – san's Rare Chips?"

"Intriguing." Isaac grinned.

"Oi, oi…" Nelaus looked skeptical.

"Ah! Nelaus – kun, de masu! Terrible, de masu!" Higure gasped.

"What happened, Higure – san?" Nelaus asked.

"These three persons wearing helmets came in, de masu! One asked this: "Cha are THE Higure Yamitarou?"… "Indeed, de masu~! Welcome, de masu~! What can I help you with? De masu?" "Sadly… We're gonna have your Rare Chips." "What did you say, de masu?" "My bad!" … One of them knocked me out and they then picked all of the cases on the shelves before running off, de masu!" Higure explained.

"Huh? What's this?" Nelaus muttered.

He spotted a piece of paper on the ground and he crouched to pick it up: both he and Higure had a look at it.

"Nelaus Rainon: if you want the Rare Chips back, call Hikari Netto and Ijuuin Enzan then come to the Kazaitou Insurance Inc. under construction satellite office. We shall be waiting."

"No signature…" Number Man muttered.

"I see." Isaac gasped.

"What?" Nelaus asked.

"Number Man… Today was Bargain Day?"

"No. It's tomorrow."

"Wait! But, then… The email I got half an hour ago about several Rare Chips being at 50%...? Those guys sent it?"

"So it'd seem! They wanted someone to pick that note up and they picked us for obvious reasons! One: although we've been living here for one year, we might not remember which days are Bargain Days. Two: Hikari Jr. and Sr. would come with the "Committee" escort and it wouldn't benefit them. Three: Blues is busy at IPC. Four: Search Man isn't around and Davis can't be counted as a Net Savior. Five: we're the only Net Saviors who could be lured here easily." Isaac exposed.

"Huh… You sounded like Holmes." Nelaus lifted his eyebrows.

"Whatever. Point is: we've gotta bring the twins and Blues along or else we won't get those Battle Chips back." Isaac summed up.

"Please, de masu! Get my Rare Chips back, de masu! Rare Chips are an _otaku_'s passion in life, de masu!" Higure pleaded.

"Don't worry, Higure – san! I won't back up from a challenge. Let's call the guys!" Nelaus grinned.

"And bring out Bond's latest gadget, too." Isaac joked.

"Very funny!" Nelaus didn't find it funny.

"I'd rather say it was _clichéd_." Number Man muttered.

"Maybe, de masu…"

"Whatever… Eh… O. K. Found Hikari's number: let's dial them up first and then call Ijuuin." Nelaus muttered.

He dialed the number and Netto soon showed up onscreen: he'd put his bandana on and looked amused.

"Yo! Nelaus. What's up?" He asked.

"Trouble! Bring Rock Man over and head to the satellite office under construction: Ijuuin and I will meet you there. Some punks stole Higure – san's Rare Chips and wanna challenge us before return them."

"Crap. Eh… Well then… I'll call Rock Man over. Meet you there in a few minutes… Later!"

"Now onto Ijuuin…" Nelaus muttered.

He dialed Enzan's number next and Enzan showed up onscreen.

"Nelaus? What's going on?" Enzan asked.

"Get on the move and come the under construction satellite office building: some punks wanna challenge us three to return the Rare Chips they stole off Higure - san." Nelaus quickly told him.

"A challenge, you say? I won't back up from any. Blues! Call a taxi to wait two blocks away so that it doesn't realize who the customer is. We've got work!" Enzan commanded.

"Roger, Enzan – sama!"

"I'll be heading over there, Ijuuin. Hikari and I will meet there." Nelaus rallied.

"O. K. See you there." Enzan confirmed.

Nelaus switched off the transmission and placed the Link PET back on its spot before nodding to Isaac.

"B-be careful, de masu!" Higure warned.

"OH YEAH! LET ZA HIGURE HIT ZA NUMBER MAN!"

"I'm cursed! De masu~!"

"That's "Darkloid" Cloud Man, Yamitarou."

"So! Nelaus. You got some work, eh?" Cloud Man's voice taunted.

"Ex- _senpai_ got bored of holding back and he's going all out?"

"Wrong, _Comrade_." A new voice announced over a speaker.

"Ex – _senpai_. Care to give me a teaser?"

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh… The "Talon" will soon figure out who they are along with Legion 64… We orbit around you, Nelaus…"

"No wonder." Isaac wasn't surprised.

"I'm like the Monolith. Patiently waiting and waiting…"

"But the Monlith is an automated machine and… Ah. Whatever. I'm off."

"Through the Off Road provided by Vincent "Red"."

"Very funny. Let's go, Isaac."

"Yeah. Forget about them and let's go tackle these guys… Let's see what stuff they're made of… And let's hope it's quality steel… Heh, heh."


	2. Chapter 2: Annihilator Chip

**Chapter 2: Annihilator Chip**

20:28 PM (Japan Time), Friday June the 10th…

"… Nelaus! Sorry. We came as fast as we could."

"I made it on time, it'd seem."

"Yeah. But we shouldn't lower the guard!"

Netto, Enzan and Nelaus met up some meters in front of the perimeter surrounding a still under construction office building: a discrete deep green Hyundai car was parked nearby and two persons' silhouettes could be seen inside of it.

"The escort agents… Well. At least we have this backup ready… Listen: there are three of them… So I guess each one of us will have to pick one opponent." Nelaus told them.

"I see." Rock Man calmly muttered as he projected with hologram.

"We're ready to come out, too, if the situation calls for it." Blood Shadow whispered from inside of the Link PET.

"Hum. We're on standby inside of the CCTV camera's Cyber World." Sigma whispered next.

"Look: the entrance fences have been tossed asides. It's like saying: "come in", even." Enzan signaled.

"They picked the wrong guys to mess with." Netto grinned.

"Yeah. They'll be having caries." Isaac grinned.

"Oi, oi…" Blues seemed to fin the joke out of proportions.

"Jeez." Nelaus mumbled.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… What are we waiting for? Let's go inside already and meet our three punks!" Sigma whispered.

"Cool it down, Sigma." Blood Shadow scolded.

"Go!" The three of them whispered.

They ran into the perimeter and spotted the open lobby doors: the lobby itself was roughly over 80% complete but some tiles were still missing as well as some handrails.

The elevator shafts were not totally enclosed yet but the stairs had been built.

Some construction material could be seen around as well as walls missing covers and showing the electrical wiring and piping running behind them.

"Where are you guys? Come out!" Netto challenged.

"Net Saviors gentlemen! Welcome!" A man's voice rang out.

A man dropped down from a balcony about three meters higher and landed on the ground in a crouched position before standing up.

He looked around a meter and eighty tall and had both black beard and hair.

His eyes' irisies color was brown.

His facial features hinted his age to be on his thirties.

He wore a brown and green monk's tunic with a lowered hood and a round glass monocle over the right eye.

His tunic included a golden medallion hanging around his neck with the _Kanji inishie_ (Ancient) drawn on it colored blood red.

His hands were bare and he seemed to be holding a dome-shaped object on his right hand.

Overall, he looked calm and didn't seem to care about what was going on.

"My name is Ancient!" He announced.

"Ancient?" Everyone wondered.

"Indeed! My codename!" He exclaimed.

"Codename…? Are you a companion of those guys from before?" Nelaus questioned.

"Correct!"

He suddenly lifted the right hand and tossed the object into the floor in front of him.

This object had a dome shape and was colored white and red: it seemed to be as tall as a human foot.

Four rectangles with azure borders and black insides were set on the north, south, east and west ends of it while the space between them had plastic covers displaying circuitry boards.

Each rectangle had a Plug-In port set half-way across it which allowed for Plug – In.

"Whoa!" Everyone gasped.

The device suddenly hummed and a small lens set on the topmost section of it and having eight thin circuitry pathways leading up to it ignited to project a hologram of what looked like a VR arena: a matrix of green lines forming squares.

"Plug In! Ronin Man, Transmission!"

Ancient took out a brown Link PET with his name's _Kanji_ as its emblem and colored in a faded brown color: his Navi plugged into the north port of the device and appeared inside of the VR arena.

"Wow."

Ronin Man looked around a meter and eighty tall.

His eyes' irises were red he looked serious and menacing given an eight-pointed purple jewel shining on his helmet's forehead.

He had blood red armor on which looked reminiscent of Takeda Shingen's _Akazonae_ cavalry troops.

He carried the traditional two swords: the _katana _and _wakizashi_ inside of their holsters and attached to his belt.

The word _ronin_ was painted black against red background on his emblem.

"Ancient… Ronin Man…!" Nelaus gasped.

"What's that machine?" Enzan questioned.

"A new Net Battle device we have developed: the Battle Stage! Up to four Net Navis can Plug-In and carry out a holographic battle: the holograms are properly scaled to be one third of the real-life size. Hikari – dono! I challenge you to a Net Battle!" Ancient announced.

"Fine! Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"

Rock Man entered the Battle Stage and he appeared in front of Ronin Man while having already drawn his Rock Buster.

"So! You're THE Rock Man." Ronin Man calmly told him.

"Who are you guys?" Rock Man demanded.

"If you wish to know the answer… Then there's no other way around but to defeat me! Showdown! Hikari – dono!" Ancient challenged.

"Fine! Let's go, Rock Man! Battle Chip, Samurai Sword! Slot In!"

Rock Man drew the Samurai Sword while Ronin Man calmly drew the _katana_ and assumed a fighting pose by placing his right foot forward yet holding the sword vertically to make sure to block any incoming attacks Rock Man might throw at him.

"Rock Man. Let's try to make a study of their capabilities before we decide switching to heavy weaponry. We gotta find out their patten." Netto told him.

"Roger." He calmly replied.

"Come!" Ronin Man challenged.

Rock Man calmly circled around and tried to trick Ronin Man with fake attacks by starting the gesture to move forward yet then stepping back: Ronin Man read through it and tried to attack Rock Man back, but Rock Man blocked back: Ronin Man took out the second sword and tried to attack Rock Man but he was always two steps ahead of him and forcing him into countering.

"I had to battle a guy with two swords some time ago. He was really powerful so I learnt from the experience. You're not weak, either, but I have had a good share of unique battles." Rock Man calmly told him.

"Hmpf. So it'd seem." He sounded unimpressed.

"Hum! Keep it like this, Ronin Man." Ancient commanded.

"Yes, my Lord."

"I guess Miyabi would want to butt in no matter what if he got a hold of this." Nelaus whispered to Enzan.

"Yeah. Obviously." Enzan shrugged.

"I'm under the impression they aren't holding back, but… It looks like they're testing Rock Man." Blues commented.

"I get that same feeling, too." Isaac admitted.

"Battle Chip, Neo Variable Sword! Slot In!" Netto announced.

None of the presents spotted three figures looking on from a finished balcony set on the west wall.

The leftmost one looked close to a meter and seventy tall.

Their hair was brown and they had sunglasses on and they were smiling: they looked no older than sixteen years old.

They wore a reddish scarf, a black trench coat, biker jeans and black boots: a navy blue shirt could be seen being worn under the trench coat.

The _Kanji_ _kako_ (past) was printed in purple color over the right sleeve.

The person wore leather gloves as well.

A red and brown Link PET was set on the right arm and its emblem was the _Kanji mamono _(monster) colored vermillion and set against a navy blue background.

"Heh, heh, heh…"

"Wro~h…"

The centermost one was over a meter and eighty tall.

Their hair was blond and they sported sunglasses as well: they looked serious and might be been close to its thirties.

They wore a navy blue biker coat with long sleeves and had the hands stuffed on the pockets.

They also wore biker jeans and black leather boots.

The _Kanji_ _genzai_ (present) was drawn in green and vertically across both sides of the coat.

The Link PET of this person was colored purple and yellow: its symbol was the _Kanji_ _ono_ (axe) colored forest green and set against a white-colored background.

"Hmpf."

"Hum."

The rightmost one looked slightly over a meter and seventy tall or maybe slightly taller.

They also sported a biker's helmet the face shield of which was lifted: the person had sunglasses on, too.

They wore a brown raincoat which had the _Kanji mirai _(future) draw vertically on both sides and colored fuchsia.

They sported a large black leather double-row belt with a boomerang and a set of keys attached to it.

The palms were covered by strap-affixed black-colored half-a-capsule-shaped plastic objects with a red circle set atop them.

They sported black leather boots as well.

It was hard to estimate its age given the helmet.

Their Link PET's colors were black and magenta: the symbol was the _Kanji_ _hakai_ (destruction) colored metallic gray and drawn over an azure background.

"Oho."

"Heh."

"Let us watch." The centermost person commanded.

"… Sonic Boom!"

"Ronin Cross!"

Ronin Man crossed his swords and managed to block off the Neo Variable Sword's Sonic Boom before shooting it back: Rock Man had already skidded across the ground taking advantage of Ronin Man's struggle and managed to land some hits on Ronin Man: he calmly stepped back and shrugged them off.

"I see. Keep 'im busy with the Sonic Boom and use that window to strike at the enemy… Amusing." The rightmost person muttered.

"I should've seen it coming." The leftmost person turned serious.

"Oi, oi… Past. That face doesn't suit ya, I tell ya." The rightmost person told him.

"Future. Do us a favor and be silent." Past replied.

"Silence." The centermost person commanded.

"Present. Ya are too stiff." Future grumbled.

Past and Present paid no heed to him: he grumbled under his breath and resumed watching the ongoing Net Battle.

"… Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In!"

"Dream Sword!"

"Ronin's Counterattack!"

Ronin Man, however, was one step too late to try to deflect the Dream Sword with his swords since it'd already made it inches in front of him: it hit him and inflicted some damage thus pushing him back and leaving some wounds and bruises on his body: he looked ready for more, though.

"This guy is starting to look like a Darkloid…" Netto muttered with a hint of nervousness.

"Diehard type, huh…" Nelaus lifted the right eyebrow.

"… Hmmm… Fine. Hikari – dono! I shall allow you to witness our _true power_!" Ancient suddenly exclaimed.

"Crap. Ace-in-the-hole…!" Enzan muttered.

"Annihilator Chip!"

Ancient took it out of his tunic's chest pocket and held it up.

This device looked like a "Synchro Chip" without the dome and having just an empty circle with eight radial black-colored grooves.

It didn't have an emblem, either, and the rest of the structure looked identical to a normal "Synchro Chip".

"You're not gonna tell me it's a rip-off from the "Dark Chips" like those "Atomic Chips" the Atomic Network Net Mafia came up back in October…"

"Heh, heh, heh! Wrong! This is no "Dark Chip" based tool. It is a wholly new system! Annihilator Chip, Slot In!" Ancient chuckled.

Ronin Man was surrounded by a white column of light and the bright on his eyes seemed to dim until they became black and lifeless: his mouth opened but only a hollow echo-like laughter emerged.

His body started moving faster and Rock Man suddenly found himself being bombarded by multiple sword attacks.

"Netto – kun! Take out the Metal Soul!" He called out.

"Roger! Soul Unison: Metal Soul! Slot In!"

Rock Man transformed into the Metal Soul and quickly charged up his right fist: it glowed with a blue light.

"Metal… Break!" He exclaimed.

The attack shattered both swords and sent Ronin Man flying.

"How's that?"

He simply didn't seem to feel it as he was moved by mere inertia and crashed upon the ground without making a single sound: they quickly stood up and began to charge up energy around the forearms: almost invisible circular buzz saws formed there and Ronin Man jumped towards Rock Man: he saw it coming so he brought his fists out to block: the buzz saws plunged into them and got stuck there.

"Something's wrong. Ronin Man is acting weird. I'd say he isn't even conscious of what he does… It's like… he was a puppet!" He muttered with a hint of nervousness.

"What? Someone is using Telnet to control the guy remotely?" Nelaus wondered.

"It's not crazy…" Enzan muttered.

"Hah, hah, hah… More or less correct, Rock Man." The hollow voice rang out of Ronin Man's mouth.

"And you're the puppeteer." Rock Man guessed.

"Call me that if you want to." The voice shrugged.

"So! Your "Annihilator Chip" shuts down a Navi's consciousness program and opens a Telnet or SSH connection to you so that you can implant a cache copy of yourself there and control it: you don't feel this guy's pain or anything thus why you can keep on fighting as long as you have enough HP." Rock Man deduced.

"Holmes. I take my hat off in front of you." The voice sarcastically told Rock Man.

"Did you think we're slow? We've seen a lot in these four and something years ever since I was appointed a Net Savior."

"Of course not. But this doesn't apply to Ronin Man: even you could be controlled by me if your Operator used the Annihilator Chip. We could control any Navi in the world and always in a simultaneous manner: it's easy to have several cache copies and servers to do this."

"Yuriko's trick won't work twice. "Fool me once, you're to shame. Fool me twice, I'm to shame." No – one falls for the same trick twice, puppeteer guy!" Rock Man calmly shot back.

"Hah. I was just warning you: this is but the prologue of something bigger which is going to start from now onwards."

"Metal Missile, Metal Wheel!"

Rock Man took the chance to shoot a rain of missiles at Ronin Man and then hit his waist with the Metal Wheel thus separating them and making him land on the ground.

"His HP is below 50 by now… Or are you gonna push it to 0?" Rock Man announced.

"Enough… This will be sufficient for the time being. Ancient! Retrieve Ronin Man and meet up with the Swordsmen. Then retreat." "Puppeteer" commanded.

"By your orders, sir!" Ancient bowed.

"Farewell, Rock Man!" "Puppeteer" exclaimed.

"Ronin Man! Plug Out!"

Ronin Man returned to Ancient's PET and he quickly aimed his left arm at the wall behind him: a small magnetic hook shot out of a device hidden inside of the left sleeve and attached to the wall: Ancient let the wire reel him and he easily climbed into the balcony.

"Keep the Duel Stage if you desire to, gentlemen! We have plenty more of them in stock. Farewell, Net Savior gentlemen!"

He ran off towards the left to meet the other three who had already opened the emergency fire stairs' door and were running down the stairs: Netto quickly retrieved Rock Man and the three of them tried to run off only for "Dimensional Area" walls to form on each opening and blocking them off.

"What the…!" Netto cursed.

"Damn. Stall for time…" Enzan groaned.

"Guys?" Rock Man called out.

"The line's been jammed." Blues reported.

"Shit." Nelaus growled.

They heard the sound of four motorbikes turning on and one of them ran off while the other three came close and broke inside of the lobby as the walls vanished: they tossed the stolen Chips into the ground as well.

"Net Saviors! We are _Rama_. A new conflict has begun. You will need to draw your true power if you hope to survive!" Present exclaimed.

"… You better don't think low of us." Past announced.

"Heh, heh! Many itchin' battles are waitin' for ya guys. _Blood 'n guts_! Heh, heh, heh!" Future exclaimed.

"Farewell!" They all exclaimed.

They exited through the north gate and tore down a perimeter fence to exit into the street: they were soon out of sight but a while column of light which showed up some blocks away indicated it all.

"Damn. They used "Dimensional Converters" to run away." Isaac cursed aloud.

"_Rama_…" Rock Man muttered.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. Those guys looked like they'd come out of a bike party!" Sigma exclaimed as he showed up on Netto's Link PET.

"It's like they said: a new conflict has begun." Blood Shadow summed up.

"Let's go sleep and we'll talk it with the Net Police because it's almost 21:00 PM and it's no time to discuss." Enzan suggested.

"Of course… And I'm sure Twilight will soon show up to taunt us too…"

"Lovely _prologue_. Let's pick that thing and bring it to the Science Labs."

"Rama… What's you guys' goal…? To what ends do you intend to go…?"


	3. Chapter 3: Honor

**Chapter 3: Honor**

08:24 AM (Japan Time), Saturday June the 13th…

"… Tee, heh, heh. Little does that punk expect this surprise strike! That contract will be _mine_! That's what ya get for telling me to go get lost in the _Naraku_! Tee, heh, heh."

"Yaito – sama… I have a bad feeling about this."

"Don't care: move on!"

"Yes, Yaito – sama!"

Glyde was sneaking across a Cyber World somewhere which was barely lit as if to signal lack of activity: he was hiding behind a column and looking forward: there didn't seem to be anyone yet a reddish glow pulsated from deep inside the Cyber World.

"That red glow…" Glyde argued.

"What the… It's just the emergency lighting! Move on!" Ayanokouji Yaito commanded.

Glyde gulped and flew forward while making sure to conceal from time to time: nothing moved and no sounds came out expect for what sounded like breathing of a large animal.

"Yikes."

Glyde began to sweat and slowly stepped forward until he reached a tall and large gateway with the banner "SERVER F11B" atop it.

"Tee, heh, heh. There it is! It's obvious! Tee, heh, heh! It was a good idea to make it look like I was planning on hitting their data backup center: they've diverted all resources there!" Yaito giggled.

Glyde slowly pulled the doors open: they creaked as they arched outwards and he gulped: the breathing sound became louder and a wave of heat rushed out of the room.

"Ya – Yaito – sama…! S-something is there…!" Glyde's teeth danced.

"It's a little setup to scare employees! Go! Go!" Yaito ordered.

"GROA~H!" A large roar rang out from inside of the gateway.

"A~h!" Glyde yelled in terror.

"What the…!" Yaito gasped.

The Cyber World shook as something large and heavy began to walk forward.

A gigantic red-colored Choina dragon came out of the gateway and unfolded its wings while roaring: it was easily ten meters large and close to five tall.

Its mere presence radiated intense heat and foresaw death and destruction.

"T-this is a real dragon…! I'm not a combat Net Navi…! I'm just a butler model…! A~h!" Glyde uttered before yelling in terror.

He began to run down the central lane while the dragon expelled flames through its nostrils and began to chase at a mad speed after Glyde: he soon spotted the firewall and stepped through the gateway labeled "TCP/IP PORT 80": it closed behind him and the firewall shook as the dragon seemingly collided with it:

"Uwa~h!"

Glyde didn't stop there and ran outside of the IPC mainframe and into Internet City: he flew across the air until he reached the Ayanokouji Mansion's Cyber World entrance: he rushed in, crossed his firewall and then returned into the Link PET: he looked totally worn out.

"Yaito – sama~…! Please do not charge me such a mission again! IPC takes its security to the utmost limit!" Glyde pleaded.

"Crap. My "divide and conquer" strategy went ashtray! Bothersome Enzan! Ya knew the attack there was a diversion but ya set it up to have Glyde be eaten by yer pet: you even extended the red carpet and told us "come in, come in!" to make us fall for it!" Yaito cursed.

Her Link PET rang and she quickly replied to the call: Omega showed up onscreen and was standing next to a wooden table with two wood benches attached to each side: it seemed to be part of a dining hall somewhere in the real world: Omega was grinning and looked totally amused.

"Ya are Omega! Whaddya want?" Yaito snapped.

"Yay! Uncle Omega's "terror n fear strategy" is a success!" A childish voice rang out close by.

Omega crouched and lifted a small Navi which came onscreen.

This Navi wore a yellow and white bodysuit and his emblem was blank: he had two pockets on both sides of the suit.

Two curious cone-shaped forms emerged from his helmet. He had two small spheres attached to the tips of them.

His face looked like that of 5 or 6 – years old child and he had green emerald irises.

"I told ya it'd be, Trill."

"Good morning, Yaito – sama~!" Trill smiled at her.

"What… Cha two set me up? Aren't cha two _neutral_? Hmmm?" Yaito got a twitch over the right eye.

"Huh? Uncle Omega! What does "neutral" mean?" Trill asked.

"Hum… We aren't bad guys but we aren't good guys, either… It's a middle point in which you decide which side you pick to help.

"Ah… And we choose to help the good guys?"

"Correct! What Ayanokouji – sama means is that we weren't supposed to care for what happens between her and Ijuuin: but since we don't like friends fighting over a silly thing we asked Dragon to lend us his myth book to draw that monster and deploy it inside of IPC's Cyber World: as ya saw, they ran off because they were afraid of the big and mean dragon which hadn't had breakfast yet."

"Tee, heh, heh! Uncle Omega is a genius!" Trill exclaimed.

"Why, you…!" Yaito looked about to explode.

"Yaito – sama didn't like the joke, Uncle Omega?" Trill asked.

"Ayanokouji – sama doesn't like when others come up with jokes she couldn't think of: she'd rather get the credit for it."

"I'M SO GONNA BEAT YA~!" Yaito exclaimed.

"Oho. I'd like to see you trying." Omega calmly lifted his eyebrows.

"This golden-haired jerk…!" Yaito looked about to strangle someone.

"Yaito – sama…!" Glyde gulped.

"Maybe the Honorable Successor President would desire some humble advice from a humble cook?" A man's voice rang out off-screen.

"Yay! Mister Dragon!" Trill giggled.

A man came onscreen.

They looked about a meter and eighty tall and in their late 30s.

His eyes' irises were brown.

His hair was black and ended in a thin string behind his head which had a Chinese-like decoration.

They wore a goldenrod tunic and a brownish bamboo hat plus traditional wood sandals.

"Oho. Ayanokouji – sama: you're about to experience Dragon Hell's kilometric speech."

"What the…! This weird-haired guy…!" Yaito grabbed the TV remote and brandished it like if it was a sword.

"The humble cook would suggest to the Honorable Successor President to have an honorable bath in the swimming pool or, rather, in the purifying waters of an _onsen_: it would calm down the anger stirred up out of jealousy and envy while bringing about peace and stability."

"HUH?"

"The Great Confucius' teachings claimed that one's purpose in life could be found through prolonged meditation and concentration: it would be advisable to seek others' counsel and free mind and body from anger and fury which threaten to trigger a pointless conflict." The man calmly exposed without changing pose.

"W-where did you guys get that dude outta from?" Yaito looked surprised at Dragon Hell's behavior.

"We hired him 'cause he was discrete and had several years of experience… And he's a wise guy."

"Che! Once I find the name of your company then you'll hear from my Papa: prepare to get kicked out!" Yaito threatened.

"Sorry. But we're no "company" per se. The "Committee" has a front but it's been around for over 40 years, so… I doubt even your powerful father being able to put a stop to it when we have the Net Police's support behind it."

"Excuse me! Is Trill over there?" A girl's voice rang out off-screen.

"Ah! Iris – oneechan!" Trill exclaimed.

"Who…?" Yaito frowned.

A girl came in onscreen but didn't seem to have noticed the camera since she was looking at Trill.

She was about 15 or 16 years old and didn't seem to be much older than either Netto or Saito.

Her height could be approximately the same as theirs.

Her eyes' irises were colored green and abundant brown hair fell down across her back until it reached the waist: two largely white flowers adorned the sides of her head.

She wore a one-piece dress consisting on a white skirt reaching until the knees, more or less, while the dress itself was pink in color.

She sported black knee-high boots as footing.

"Good morning, Dragon – san, Omega – san… Trill! How many times do I tell you to write a note? I've been teaching you _hiragana _and _katakana_ for something, haven't I?" Iris scolded.

"Eh…" Trill looked guilty.

"No good, Trill. You _must_ let Iris know where you're going to: she's responsible for you, after all!" Omega told him.

"Trill is sorry! Trill was told by Uncle Omega of the surprise and got so excited…" Trill apologized.

"Aha-hah!" Yaito exclaimed.

"Oh? Is that Ayanokouji – san…? Hikari – kun told me about his classmates one day… She's the heiress of Gabcom, right?" Iris asked Omega.

"Yeah. By "Hikari – kun" do you mean Jr.?" Omega asked.

"Ah… Correct. I just tend to have the habit to name his brother "Rock Man" but I should call him Saito – kun… It sounds… somewhat… too personal, I'd say… We're not exactly classmates, but…" Iris muttered.

"Say! Ya are the one who hooked Enzan up?" Yaito questioned with obvious suspicion.

"What did you say? I "hooked" Ijuuin – san "up"? Eh… I know who he is but I'm afraid we haven't met in person yet." Iris frowned.

"It's an expression to mean if you're his girlfriend."

"No. I _am_ a Navi, after all."

"Ah. So this girl is a Navi… So who hooked Enzan up?"

"Nobody did. He's never seen any possible way to allow for such a… relationship… to happen."

"The jerk…! He's been fooling me for years and laughing at my back…! I'm going to make my flying sky-mowers mincemeat him and his stupid IPC company…!" Yaito got a twitch over the right eye.

"Come on… Were it not for IPC then we'd never gotten past the PET I model! They came up with the PET II, Advanced PET II, PET III and the current Link PET!" Omega told her.

"Che. I'll remember this!"

The communication was interrupted: Omega walked over to the Link PET set atop a tripod and picked it up while Trill jumped into the ground and stretched.

"Morning…" A voice yawned.

A man stepped in.

He looked on his mid – twenties, had messy jet black hair and red eye irises.

He wore an open navy blue vest and a white t-shirt with the Chrysler Building's silhouette painted set on it plus black and white sports pants and white sneakers.

He looked like he'd come from doing a lot of effort given his sleepy face and the way he dragged his feet into the room.

"Boss… You overdid it again, didn't you?" Omega sighed.

"Can't be helped, Omega…" He muttered.

He sat on one bench and stretched while looking around.

"Ah. Iris, Trill… Good morning." He greeted.

"Good morning." Iris politely replied.

"Yay! Mister Vadous came! Mister Vadous must be like Clark Kent: he has a civilian identity, too! Mister Kir Osh told Trill!" Trill giggled.

"Yeah. He wasn't that much off the mark." The man named Vadous made half a smile.

"Where did you go today?" Omega asked.

"Kyoto's _Kinkakuji_… Those gardens are just perfect for me."

"You're seeking something to shake off stress, then… By the way… Mr. Trouble dropped by last evening."

"Lovely. Whose turn is it now? The Four Knights of the Apocalypse or what?" Vadous sarcastically asked while rolling his eyes.

"They call themselves "Rama": there seems to be four field agents and a guy who Rock Man labeled the "puppeteer": the guy who challenged him was named Ancient and his Navi was Ronin Man. According to Higure's witness… The other three guys had similar _kanji_ on their clothes which indicated their aliases: Past, Present and Future." Omega listed.

"Ronin Man, huh… Heh. I guess he and Shadow Man will battle to death one day." Vadous grinned.

"Guess so. They use a tool named "Annihilator Chip" which can seemingly allow this "Puppeteer" guy to remotely control Navis. We don't have any idea of what Navis the other guys use. They even developed a machine named Duel Stage which allows up to 4 Net Navis to Plug-In and do a Net Battle with one/third proportion holograms." Omega finished.

"Hum. I see. If I could bet, I'd say we'll soon see that Ancient guy quarreling with Dark Miyabi. And that machine looks like an imitation of _Duel Monsters' _Duel Disk." Vadous shrugged.

"Sure. By the way, I think those guys are companions of our fellow Mr. Biker, "Past"… Remember: he's been chasing clubs and all ever since a year ago…"

"True. And I can't remember his Boss' name now."

"Guess they'll let it slip."

"Yay! Trill will go take care of helping with the cleansing. Later!"

"Bye." Both Omega and Vadous replied.

"Goodbye." Iris politely bowed.

Omega's Link PET (which had the purple Alphabet 'V' letter set on it against a black background and was colored purple and red) rang.

"See?"

He picked it up: Dark Miyabi showed up onscreen.

"Miyabi. Let me guess. A bearded guy with a Navi named Ronin Man showed up there." Omega guessed.

"Yeah. He's starting to give me a headache." Miyabi grumbled.

"… And such you can't be labeled as a true _ninja_, Miyabi – dono! You haven't pledged loyalty to any Lord." Ancient was telling him off-screen with obvious arrogance.

"You and I are the same: _ronin_!" Ronin Man told Shadow Man.

"Whatever." Shadow Man grumbled.

"Ronin's Counterattack!"

"Evil Seal!"

"I'll leave you two to your quarrel. Please ring me up if you need someone to kick that guy's nose."

"Oh. Count on it." Miyabi looked animated.

"Who…?" Ancient grumbled.

"Hmpf! Your worst nightmare."

Vadous barely held back his laughter.

"Who are you?" Ancient questioned.

"Ask your Lord."

"Why, you…!"

"Mr. Sandals will come eat your sandals up."

"W-what did you say?" Ancient sounded dumbfounded.

"Are you supposed to be the Viceroy of the Trade Federation? Your monocle hints at it. Or better: the Archduke of Crap Land." Omega provoked him.

"I obey the will of Present – sama! We Rama shall soon turn Net Navis back into what they should've been from the very start: tools to be ruled by humans!" Ancient proclaimed.

"Shoo. That's ripped off a movie!"

"You dare insult _Priest_ – sama, too! Your venomous tongue knows no limits! Ronin Man will take your neck to my Lord!" Ancient was clearly pissed off by now.

"Oh. I'm so scared." Omega whistled the _Super Mario Bros._ tune and looked elsewhere.

"_Okubi choudai_!" Ancient exclaimed.

"That's the old-fashioned _samurai_ motto for: "I'll slice your neck". You're so unoriginal, really… I guess the scriptwriters will have to change all of your lines by next episode."

"Hah! And you're supposed to be an assassin, Shadow Man? I've brought you to the edge of your strength!" Ronin Man exclaimed.

"Muramasa Blade!"

"Impossible! I've been fooled, you say?" Ronin Man gasped.

"No way…!" Ancient cursed.

"Hmpf. A _Sengoku _era _ninja_ always has some tricks up his sleeves, you archduke wannabe come out from a 15th century engraving." Miyabi sarcastically replied.

"Guo~h!" Ronin Man groaned.

"_The End_." Vadous grinned.

"Damn…! Rock Man was one thing, but you lowlife…! You shunned me even further than I already am…!" Ronin Man cursed.

"I don't know what training you have done but all enemies I've faced knew about my strategies and Muramasa Blade use beforehand: you haven't done your research. You fail like Atomic Network."

"Correct. I think you'll come with us to the Net Police HQ." Miyabi told Ancient with a smug smile.

"Wrong. Dark Miyabi." A manly voice rang out.

"Ah! Present – sama!" Ancient sounded relieved.

"Ancient. You're still useful, so… I know Priest – sama personally assigned you this target but you should've researched it up before heading up to challenge him in the same place as yesterday evening." Present's voice told him.

Miyabi grabbed the PET and focused it at the western balcony: however, the lack of lighting and the angle made it hard to spot his face: he managed to make a photo of his clothes, though.

"Dark Miyabi. You and your companions will soon experience the true power we _Rama_ hold. Until then…" Present sentenced.

There was a loud bang followed by a white flash: two motorbikes ignited and ran off while the flash and bang died down.

"They ran… Whatever." Miyabi muttered.

"Hmpf. _Sengoku V2_ will knock at their doors before they realize it. So Says Shadow Man He Who Lives In Thou Creepy Shadow Of Doubt… Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…"

"So… Their _Danna_ is named "Priest": I'd almost sworn he was named "Far away past" or _mukashi_…" Vadous muttered.

"Or it could've been either "past age", _kodai_ or "age", _jidai_. But we knew his name ever since October, anyway." Omega suggested with a smile.

"True. And I guess Twilight will soon stick out either his hide or will send his "Talon", Darth Bapgei, to battle Nelaus."

"No wonder. And taunt us with his "future knowledge" or, rather, his spoilers for upcoming games and comics."

"As long as he doesn't spoil me the upcoming _Halo 3: ODST _and _Halo: Reach_ which were shown at the E3 fair a few days ago… Meh."

09:16 AM (Japan Time)…

"… So… That Ancient guy challenged you and Shadow Man but they didn't get to use the "Annihilator Chip"… They've must been confident."

"Wasn't it obvious?"

"It sure was: he fell for the Muramasa strategy."

"I'd rather he fell for my curse."

"A curse…?"

"The _Sengoku _curse! Mwa, hah, hah!"

Miyabi had come to the Hikari house and was speaking with Netto and Saito in the living room while they sat on the sofas: Shadow Man was chuckling, Blood Shadow looked uneasy and Sigma was laughing aloud: Miyabi was calmly sipping his tea and looked unimpressed: the twins looked slightly fed up with Sigma's jokes.

"Very funny!" Blood Shadow growled.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh… Very _original_, I'd say." Shadow Man chuckled.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Told ya." Sigma grinned.

"What mood, really…" Miyabi muttered.

"It'd rather say what humor." Netto muttered.

"Yeah. Those two really have weird humor." Saito muttered.

"Either way… He should've been hired to take part in one Meiji Era drama series so popular nowadays… Or gone to Bombay and dance the hula-hop by using a snake as a ring…" Shadow Man announced.

"Shadow Man. You have weird humor." Miyabi told him with a hint of annoyance.

"Mwah, hah, hah! No! He has _original_ humor! He'll make Vincent look pale in comparison at this rate!" Sigma laughed.

The others sighed in defeat while Shadow Man chuckled along him…

09:43 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Have you understood your mission objectives?"

"Yes, sir."

"Fine. Go."

"Yes, _Master_."

The three "Swordsmen" were kneeling in front of a large LCD screen placed within a room somewhere: it displayed a white circle with the black _Kanji hametsu _(annihilation) on it over a brown background: a man's voice had spoken.

"That stuff we told Ancient is to make the enemy believe we aren't serious and they won't be able to fight us in a real manner: our true goal is cleverer than that but I won't speak of it. You have your orders and you know what to do. Remember: keep your covers up. Rama will guide you towards your goal. Go." "Priest" commanded.

"Roger."

The screen switched off and the three of them calmly stood up: they exchanged quick shakings before heading off on different directions: east, west and south.

_Heh. I've been shining for some months already but the others now get to shine too…_

Past walked down a metallic corridor into a small garage containing his bike and some metal crates: he calmly rummaged into them and picked up some stuff which he placed in a backpack: he put in on and then equipped a motorbike helmet as he climbed into the bike and checked it out.

"Oil levels: check. Gasoline: check. Tires: check. Brake fluid: check. All checks complete." He automatically listed.

The shutter in front of him opened: the bike climbed up a ramp and emerged from beneath the ground in the midst of a factory-filled district

"Strategy Analysis: Start. Time for my pal to make their _debut_…"

10:52 AM (Melbourne Time)…

"… So, Master Twilight… These "Rama" guys…?"

"Yeah, Philip… "Past" and his buddy "Priest"… And I gotta agree with _kyoudai_ that the thing's an attempt to make real _Duel Monsters'_ Duel Disk."

"I knew it was too similar to be a coincidence."

"OH YEAH! LET ZA DUEL HIT ZA DISK!"

"Cloud Man! Shut up!"

"Yikes!"

"Jeez."

Two guys had been talking inside of a living room in a house somewhere and while sitting on the sofa.

"Cloud Man: you don't learn…"

The one on the left young man could be about a meter and sixty tall or maybe a bit taller.

His hair was jet black and he had green emerald irises.

He simply wore a long-sleeved black t-shirt and jeans: he had white sneakers on too.

"Bapgei! Did you face your rival using 2 _Platinum_ games and the IR?"

"Jeez. Master Twilight…"

"Cloud Man. You're starting to PISS ME OFF. AS ALWAYS."

"Yikes."

Twilight w could be about a meter and eighty tall or a bit taller.

His hair was blonde and his eyes' irises were green emerald too.

He had a black suit over a white shirt, a black tie and pants along with shoes.

"Cloud Man!"

"Yikes! Commander Freeze Man!"

"We've been like this for 10 MONTHS!"

"True." Yamato Man fumed.

"Not 10 days!" Swallow Man grumbled.

"And not 10 weeks!" Cosmo Man cursed next.

"This jerk!" Zoan Gate Man muttered.

"Metto~?"

"Legion 64! Spread across the 5 continents and bring me news of "Rama" and their activities! Such is my desire!"

"Metto~!"

"Split across and coordinate them!"

"Roger!"

"Phew."

"I know, Philip, I know… Cloud Man drives anyone MAD."

"At least he's not as worse as Sigma and Shadow Man…"

"Huff. I know. Those two are foolish: don't mind them!"

"Not like I intended to… So I guess the Justice Council will be visited by one of those guys too… They're too juicy of a target to ignore them."

"Obviously. Heh. Their debut wasn't half-bad either… No wonder they've been quietly growing ever since a year ago… And I've gotten a hunch of whom "Past" is… But I won't speculate yet. I need some evidence."

"Interesting."

"Isn't it? Heh, heh, heh. Well. Let's go resume the sword training."

"Delighted. Glory to the Rule of Two… Darth Twilight shall rise! Heh, heh!"


	4. Chapter 4: Prophetess

**Chapter 4: Prophetess**

11:08 AM, Sunday June the 14th…

"… Jeez. I guess this is why most guys break up with their girlfriends: having to wait for them to ransack through Zara and getting bored to death…! I brought _Star Wars Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial_ along to kill the time, luckily enough…!"

"Yeah. I've got some jokes written by Omega to look up and he challenges me to improve them, too."

Nelaus (sporting a brown trench coat, a brown hat with a black stripe, a black T-shirt, jeans and white sneakers) was leaning on a wall inside of a corridor next to the entrance to a Zara shop.

"I won't deny that Akihara Tower has a lot of stuff to see, but… Ever since Aura – chan and I started off half a year ago I always have to go through the same _via crucis_ once a month." Nelaus muttered.

"No wonder… Felicia – chan spends 1 hour of her life picking up new fashionable clothes, too. Gabcom came up time ago with those "Fashion Chips": the stores offer a display and then they give you the program data for it which is stored in the "Fashion Chip"… but that's something inspired by how Hikari Jr. had to store the Soul Unison data in blank Battle Chips: maybe Ayanokouji reverse-engineered it, too." Isaac sighed.

"Well! Excuse us!"

"Are you trying to seek conflict with us, maybe?"

Nelaus calmly looked up from the novel and to his left to see a girl who'd come out of the Zara store.

This girl was around fifteen years old and roughly a few inches shorter than Nelaus.

She had orange curly hair and blue eyes.

Today she sported a brown sleeveless leather jacket coupled with a knee-long skirt, and brown leather boots.

She also carried her arm strap for her Link PET and a handbag: her Link PET's emblem was a stylized "F" letter colored white and black and set against a blue background which was decorated with snow drops.

"Tamashita Aura – chan. I'm not impressed anymore." He drily replied.

"Felicia."

"Yeah. I know."

Felicia, her Net Navi, seemed to be around her Operator's height at a first glance.

Her helmet was colored olive green and it had a sapphire set into its forehead which glowed differently depending on the light's angle: the helmet included a cobalt blue matrix over its surface.

Her eyes were cobalt blue as well and two twin tails of blondish hair came out from behind her head.

Her bodysuit's main color was cobalt blue instead and her emblem was the same one as in the PET.

Her shoulders were anatomically correct and had ruby plating over them while her arms and elbow were colored in a mix of blue and white decorated with emerald square dots.

Her forearms were colored orange and had eight thin pink circles circling along their length.

Her legs used a mix of blue and yellow and contained diamond-shaped brown dots scattered at random.

The boots had been painted using orange color and had zigzag patterns which vertically spanned the height of them.

"My, my! Nelaus – kun. It'd seem you've gotten rather dry ever since March!" Aura told him with a hint of irritation.

"What happened to that shining knight, Isaac – kun?"

"Yeah. What happened?"

"I haven't gotten "dry": I'm trying to understand why you take so long to do something I could do in less than 20 minutes." Nelaus closed the book.

"That's because we girls must be well-stocked!" Aura protested.

"That sounds like a _cliché_."

"Yeah. Omega would say the same, I guess." Isaac shrugged.

"Omega – san must have _zero_ experience on that field." Felicia shot back at him.

"Cool it down…" Isaac calmly lifted his hands and opened them.

"The AC mustn't be working fine." Nelaus muttered.

"So! That face means you're confident you'll get the top notes of the class, Nelaus – kun?" Aura questioned.

"Guess so."

"By the way! We've been doing some research." Felicia announced with a large grin.

Nelaus calmly lifted the left eyebrow while Isaac looked unimpressed at their announcement.

"… There's a new ice-cream shop in the food court." Aura finished.

"Ah. So that's what you meant." He muttered.

"What? You thought we'd uncovered a skeleton in your closet? Tee, heh, heh." Felicia giggled.

"Ask Hammer Man." Isaac shrugged.

"Let's go check it out! And put another face: you look like a man on his 40s instead of being 16 years old." Aura added.

They climbed up some floors and entered the food court: Nelaus picked a free table while Aura headed over to the restrooms: he checked the chart and didn't look interested.

"What's up, Nelaus?"

"I know… I found it exciting some months ago, but… The dryness which comes with the exams hasn't left me yet. And I shouldn't complain: I'd never had to do any of them before starting 3rd grade." Nelaus sighed as he leant the right elbow on the table's surface and his cheek on the right closed fist.

"They say that if you lower your guard around a girl they'll leech you out, so…" Isaac whispered.

"Come on… Those two aren't leeches. Look at those two women whom we arrested back in March." Nelaus whispered back.

"Huh? Mail… The sender is… What the hell!" Isaac uttered.

"One of the bike gang…?" Nelaus looked eager.

"The guy named "Past"… He'll be waiting for you today at 16:35 PM in the old "Dark Chip" factory site of the Desert Man incident. It sounds like a classical trap, even." Isaac reported.

"Whatever. I prefer a Net Battle to this stuff. I guess Hikari's and Ijuuin's manias passed into me, too." Nelaus grinned.

"Sure. Let's make sure to sneak out later." Isaac blinked him an eye.

"OH YEAH! LET ZA METTOOL HIT ZA LEGION!"

"Cloud Man. You wanna play stalker?"

"Guess that."

"Shouldn't you be researching about "Rama"?"

"Heh! 17 and 18 let me know ya got a mail from them."

"How devious of you."

"Ain't it? Mwah, hah, hah. I'm off to greeting Vincent "Red"! See ya!"

"Cloud Man… As usual: asking for trouble wherever he goes to."

"I know. Let's not mind the guy too much and focus on what we gotta do."

"OK, Admiral. Time to shine. Guess my secret techniques will do. Heh!"

11:17 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Priest – sama. Thou have summoned me?"

"Correct, _Prophetess_. I have a mission for you."

A girl on her late teens or close to her twenties was kneeling in front of the LCD screen.

She looked close to a meter and eighty tall.

She sported a black helmet with the _Kanji_ _yogensha_ (prophet/prophetess) colored purple set on its forehead: some blond hair came out from behind and reached past the neck.

She wore biker's gear, including a zipper leather suit, boots and gloves:

Her Link PET was colored metallic gray with a transparent reddish carcass which allowed one to see the circuitry boards: its emblem was the _Kanji majo_ (witch) colored lush green and drawn over a golden background.

"Command me." Prophetess bowed.

"The relative data is on its way to your PET: make sure to leave no copies of it." Priest commanded.

"Roger."

The PET beeped and she picked it up to look something up: she then replaced on in the arm strap.

"Rama will guide you. Now go." Priest commanded.

"Yes, _My Master_." She quickly stood up and saluted in a military manner at the screen.

The screen shut down and she quickly turned upon her heels to walk outside of the room: she was rubbing her hands in excitement and giggling.

"Interesting! Really interesting! My target is not a vulgar man: it's a handsome one which I could teach some arts, even! I can see his future: under my rule! Tee, heh, heh!"

11:46 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Jeez. Man. Frederick the Great strikes back! Now I can't find that report about that Hong – Kong casino bribes investigation Commander Alamantz took care of seven months ago. It ain't in the "H" drawer, it ain't typed into the database Nokay built a year ago and it ain't in the garbage bins. And I ain't gonna ring _each and everyone one_ of our companions to ask "Who the hell hid that report to make me sweat on a Sunday morning?"… What a morning!"

"Come on, Charleston…"

"Gra~h. Nya~h! Go explore Venus, Davis or Dave, whatever name suits you better! Pick Hal and tell the Monolith there's something worth its time and laziness over there!"

A man was rummaging inside the metallic drawers of one archive room.

This guy could be about a meter and seventy-five in height but his age was around his early 20s.

He had messy silver hair which spread slightly backwards and formed some spikes: his eyes' irises were blue.

His clothes consisted on a navy blue overcoat which had a central silver button about the waist.

His coat then opened to expose his legs although it covered the rear of them.

He wore a black shirt beneath the overcoat plus black fingerless gloves on his hands: he also sported black jeans and sneakers.

The right shoulder contained blackish armor with an orange-colored edge and a silver button right over it which seemed to help it be gripped to the shoulder: three circles were then drawn on his right sleeve before a triangular piece of armor expanded over the hand: its main body was black too and it had orange edges.

His PET was colored silver and brown and had an emblem: a perfect golden-colored cross.

This cross was drawn inside of a silver circle having a brownish edge.

"Charles. Be realistic. I'm sure it's on your drawer to begin with. You're not looking hard enough."

The man named Charles directed a glance at his left: a Navi was standing there and he looked somewhat amused at his companion's behavior.

His body suit was colored in a deep brown color and he appealed as being about a meter and eighty tall in height.

His eyes' irises were chestnut brown and his face seemed to be shaped after a man on his early 20s: he currently displayed some annoyance which they didn't bother to conceal.

His helmet's color was red and so were his boots and forearms: the helmet had the _kanji_ for "seigi" or "justice" written in a golden coloring vertically across his forehead's height.

The Navi seemed to wear a vest over his chest armor colored silver.

This vest had bronze edges: it also had the Alphabet character "D" colored golden set on each side of its body.

His arms contained four thin brownish stripes running down the north, south, west and east side of them until they drew four circles around the wrist: his forearms had extra armor over it colored in a grayish color plus a small red dome inside of each palm.

The legs' length had been designed to include a network of patterns interconnected by some nodes which were reminiscent of human nerves: the boots' front edge was shaped like a triangle and so was the heel: they apparently served as close-quarters combat weapons.

"Yeah? I find that hard to believe, Davis." Charles sounded and looked skeptical.

"Try it out, Morgangantz – sama." Davis grinned.

"Bang your head with a hammer, Captain Henshman – sama." Charles drily replied.

"Invent Hammer Man." Davis chuckled.

Charles ran off the archive and ran into a small office-like room which had a desk with a PC and a metallic drawer set: he opened one and rummaged inside before taking out a folder labeled "HONG KONG CASINO INVESTIGATION: CONCLUDED ON 12/12/2008".

"What the… It was at the very bottom! I must've been working up late into the night and ended up putting it here by mistake!" He cursed.

"See?" Davis grinned as he showed up on the threshold.

"Sod off." Charles grumbled.

They suddenly heard a motorbike's roar not too far away along with the sound of a sub-machinegun being discharged: something broke through glass and a motorbike parked with a loud screech.

"T-that came from the lobby!" Davis gasped.

"Shit. Another grunt they sent to try to scare us off… Well then. They're gonna learn they messed with the wrong guys." Charles grumbled.

He picked a black object which looked like a vertical rectangle with a pyramidal base from his belt and pressed a button: a blue-colored pyramidal light-saber was ignited: Davis nodded and drew a Super Vulcan Battle Chip.

"Go!" Both whispered.

They ran off the office and Charles made sure to hold his sword ahead: the building had gotten eerily quiet ever since the initial dramatic appearance of the intruder.

"They must be making their way here…" Charles whispered.

"Let's be ready." Davis whispered back.

They heard footsteps walking towards them and a shadow was drawn against the wall: Charles and Davis glued their backs to it: the footsteps stopped and they heard the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground followed by rummaging.

"Hah!" Someone exclaimed.

A Duel Stage was thrown into the corridor and both gasped in surprise at the act.

"Plug In! Witch, Transmission!" A female voice commanded.

A Navi was displayed through the Duel Stage's own Net Battle arena 3D projector.

Her eyes' irises were golden and red and she had a smug smile on her face.

Two long strings of reddish hair expanded from behind her head and reached as far as her ankles

She wore a witch's hat and a red leather bodysuit which formed the shape of an inverted triangle.

She sported long black leather gloves and heeled boots complemented by stockings on the legs and mail-like texture on the remaining exposed space of her arms.

She carried a magic staff with a black spheroid on top of it by grabbing it with her right hand: her emblem was placed on the suit's upper torso area just beneath the neck.

"Rama!" Both gasped.

"Correct!" Witch grinned.

"_Senator_ Morgangantz. My. You guys are funny!" Prophetess giggled as she stepped into the corridor by carrying a Heckler & Koch sub-machinegun on her left hand and the Link PET on the right one.

"So… According to your helmet's _Kanji_, your codename is _Prophetess_… You must be fond of dramatic entrances." Charles icily told her.

"Yeah. We're serious, after all! Then… Showdown!" She challenged as she tossed the sub-machinegun into the carpeted ground.

Davis dematerialized and returned inside of his Link PET: Charles then aimed it at the Duel Stage.

"Plug In! Davis, Transmission!"

Davis entered the system and Witch calmly looked at him with an inspecting and commanding look.

"Hmmm… Not bad." She muttered.

"Crap." Davis cursed.

"S&M sadist…?" Charles grumbled.

"Correct. I'm a good provider of goods. It's my first time in the Tokyo Prefecture but maybe I can make some slight business here… There's way more market elsewhere." Prophetess giggled.

"Che. Go, Davis! Battle Chip, Justice Sword! Slot In!"

"Justice Sword!"

Davis drew a golden-colored Long Sword Battle Chip and jumped towards Witch: she calmly placed her staff horizontally and blocked off Davis: he seemed to have expected the move, though.

"Battle Chip, Justice Cannon! Slot In!"

"Justice Cannon!"

Davis shot the Justice Cannon (a golden-colored Hi Cannon Battle Chip) at close-quarters but a purple round shield formed and bounced the attack back at Davis: he groaned and was pushed into the ground while rubbing the side of his body.

"Damn. This thing bounces back your attack and _doubles_ its power! No kidding! Instead of 100 HP it drained me 200 HP!" He cursed.

"Men like you are always eager to rob us women of our beauty with your filthy hands: my Witch's Barrier is a useful way to stop you from doing that like you always do." Witch grinned.

"Tell that to some grunts in the lower districts: I've never been that kind of person!" Davis groaned.

"Flame Spell!"

The spheroid of her staff glowed red and a circle of flames formed around Davis while increasing their height before closing on him and setting him on fire: a _chibi_ doll was burnt instead and she gasped.

"Justice Cannon!"

The attack hit her from behind and she didn't have time to bring up her Witch's Barrier, so she groaned and turned around.

"_Kawarimi_…!" She cursed.

"Hey. Don't tell me stuff like that again because I was 3 meters away from you!" Davis grinned.

"Che. Ice Spell!"

The spheroid shone blue now and some Ice Towers came out of the ground thus forming a cage around Davis: he calmly cut them with his Justice Sword and rushed towards Witch.

"Lighting Spell!"

Her spheroid glowed yellow this time around and some lighting fell down around Davis: he simply used his sword to absorb it and shot it at Witch: her Witch's Barrier deflected it but Davis was already running past her to dodge it: she turned around and looked annoyed.

"Playtime's over! I'll be serious! Earth Spell!"

The ground was filled with grass and some weeds formed out of it and around the area: Davis calmly jumped across the air and ignored them as he headed for Witch: he hit her knees with the Justice Sword and then jumped back.

"Crap. He found out I protected the weeds with my Witch's Barrier…! Not yet! Light Spell!" She grimaced.

Her spheroid shone white and some blinding streaks of light were emerged from it: she quickly tossed a Prism Battle Chip into the air to bounce them off and bombard the ground: one hit Davis but another _chibi_ doll showed up and four _shuriken_ hit her from behind.

"No way! He's not even fighting seriously!" She cursed.

"Really… Didn't you make your research?" Davis looked skeptical.

"Che! We were assigned this mission a little while ago and we were driving the whole time: it was no situation to be able to do research on you!" She protested.

"Cool it off, Witch." Prophetess commanded.

"Yes, Mistress. Dark Spell!"

The spheroid shone black now and several small orbs colored purple were shot out: one or two hit Davis but he looked rather unfazed.

"What does it take to make you feel pain…? A sword plunging through your body…?" She hissed.

"You picked veterans." Charles shrugged.

"It wouldn't be worth it if it weren't veterans." Prophetess calmly replied while folding her arms.

"Dunno." Davis replied.

"Che! Spell Fusion!"

The spheroid's colors shifted around as it built up energy and then projected a white-colored energy shockwave which hit Davis and sent him flying but he didn't display any symptoms of the attack having actually hurt him.

"Wait, wait! Ancient fell for that trap yesterday! It's a Muramasa strategy: they're provoking us to fall for it!" Prophetess realized.

"Ah. Catching up?" Charles grinned.

"Why, you…! So that's what you were planning!" Witch hissed.

"We said it: we're veterans! We've got several aces up our sleeves!" Davis grinned as well.

"Let's level this up! Annihilator Chip, Slot In!"

Witch shone with a black aura as her pupils' glow slowly diminished to be replaced by a faint purple sparkle: her body seemed to accumulate energy and the hollow voice rang out.

"Are you the _Danna_'s Net Navi?" Davis questioned.

"Correct, Davis! However! You may call me "Puppeteer" for the time being before I make my debut. You guys will soon experience the flavor of desperation!" The voice confirmed.

"What benefit does it bring upon to control the Navi from your throne, puppeteer - sama?" Charles questioned.

"It's not only my cache copy personality being transplanted: their full potential is unlocked by the password only I and my Lord know: they jump from 50% potential to 100%!" "Puppeteer" exclaimed.

"Crap. Then… This one's max HP is not 1600 HP but 3200 HP?" Davis looked nervous.

"Not only that! All attacks' power doubles as well. If a Giga Cannon Program Advance normally inflicts 500 HP damage, it'll now inflict 1000 HP! And Witch's Barrier will return you _four times_ the original damage it was going to grant!" "Puppeteer" laughed.

"That Ronin Man didn't look so strong…" Charles frowned.

"Hah. He was a test mouse! His power was limited to give you the impression that our power was like his: but now you realize that you've stepped into our carefully calculated trap! Atomic Chips and Dark Chips did increase the power of attacks but did nothing regarding the max HP or the power of a Net Navi and Darkloid: it was already at a 100% to begin with, anyway! But this makes the Annihilator Chip be a terrifying tool capable of defeating you lowlifes!" "Puppeteer" laughed.

"Crap. I drained around 500 HP, but… I've got to drain over five times that number to win! And I thought the Atomic Network guys and other enemies were hard to though…!" Davis grimly muttered.

"Craving your own grave, then! I'll make that wish come true! Meteor!"

The staff hit the ground and some incandescent meteors began to rain down around Davis: he tried to attack Witch but her Witch's Barrier came up and he barely avoided hitting it.

"If there was a way around it… Wait. Hmmm… I'm not sure if it'll work or not, but… It's worth a try." He muttered.

"I can see what you mean." Charles confirmed.

He quickly brought up his Link PET's menu and inputted some commands: one of the Duel Stage's LEDs switched from green to red: Witch suddenly recovered the glow on her eyes and looked disoriented.

"Huh? I've hit the 10-min time limit for the Annihilator Chip?" She wondered aloud.

"Giga Cannon!" Davis exclaimed.

"E~h?"

The blast hit her while she was distracted and inflicted severe damage to her: Davis was already getting ready for his next attack while Prophetess was messing around with her PET's menu.

"Program Advance! Cannon, Hi Cannon, Mega Cannon! Slot In!" Charles exclaimed.

"Zeta Cannon! Go!"

The bombardment hit Witch before she'd recovered and she was automatically logged out.

"Damn! You switched off the Wi-Fi link of the Duel Stage and shut down the SSH remote management protocol! Thus it was treated as if the Annihilator Chip's 10-min time limit had been hit and all effects were withdrawn! I didn't write down the password I decoded and I couldn't connect again in time!" Prophetess cursed.

"All's fair in war: but now that you've lost the surprise element, we'll have more powerful Folders ready by the next encounter with you guys."

"Right in the mark!"

"Mark my words, Morgangantz! Once I defeat you I will make sure to make you pay for this shame you inflict into me!" Prophetess cursed as she picked the sub-machinegun and aimed it at Charles.

"Wanna brawl?" Davis challenged as he materialized.

"Farewell!"

She shot out the bulbs in the ceiling and ran off.

"After her!" Charles rallied.

They ran down the corridor and heard her motorbike turning on and running off: they climbed down stairs into a small lobby which only had two plants and a receptionist desk: the front two glass doors were shattered in their majority and all light bulbs had been blown out by the sub-machinegun round's.

"Damn. She ran away and we weren't able to find out her bike's plate at the very least. Even if it's faked we could've set up a warning." Charles hissed in frustration.

"I wonder what will everyone say when they come on Monday to deliberate on the weekly meeting to decide investigations' assignments and progress… They must think Bourne dropped by here along with his CIA pursuers." Davis sarcastically suggested.

"They're armed, too, which makes them a dangerous lot. And if I can bet then they're gonna send her after Martin and Lander next." Charles grumbled.

"I guess the police must be on their way: there'll be some ruckus about us bringing noise to the district again." Davis sighed.

Charles' Link PET rang so he patched the call: Netto was onscreen along with Saito and both looked worried.

"Charles! Are you guys alright? We heard over the RSS that there'd been a shooting over there!" Netto told them.

"Who did it?" Saito asked.

"One: we're alright. Two: Prophetess, a new Rama member. Three: RSS will beat TV and radio at this rate." Charles' last reply had some sarcasm to it.

"Try to beat Twitter or Facebook." Davis sarcastically challenged.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… I'd like to see 'em tryin'." Sigma grinned.

"Come on… This is serious."

"Was that…?" Netto began.

"Yeah. Regrettably enough. Her Navi, Witch, was the same type. And the mere name hints it anyway." Charles grumbled.

"Crap." Saito muttered.

"Luckily we believe she prefers a slight more grown-up type of guys: she'll most likely be going after Martin Blackdesu and Lander next." Davis rolled his eyes.

"Lovely." Both grumbled.

"Please send us a report when you have time: we'll submit to both Boss and the Net Police." Blood Shadow requested.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… We'll send it to 'em via DHL." Sigma grinned.

"Sigma. Be serious."

"Ya are too stiff, Blood." Sigma shrugged.

"I'm _serious_. And if Commander Omega comes down he'll scold you for trying to be so light-hearted about these matters."

"We'll send you guys that report once we solve this mess. But this is quickly escalating: these guys might go to sinister ends, too." Charles sighed in defeat.

"They're escalating Mt. Everest." Davis sarcastically told Charles.

"Not you too…" Charles looked exasperated by now.

"Metto~!"

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. Swallow Man – sama's ghost found ya!"

"Swallow Man. Not you again."

Swallow Man's 3D image formed there while folding his arms and looking rather smug.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. Bert Saxby sends his greetings."

"How original."

"Origin sends his too."

"That's a _Tales of Symphonia_ rip-off. Did Twilight get amused by that?"

"Guess that, College of Charleston and Davidson."

"Jeez." Both grumbled.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… I'm eager to pound ya again!"

"Hmpf! Sigma. You lowlife… But now that I don't have a body you can't do that! Hah! Same goes for Blood Shadow and Omega!"

"Hmpf." Blood Shadow was unimpressed.

"Well then… Beware or the "Talon" will come for your head, Charlie~!"

Swallow Man laughed and his 3D image vanished while Charles picked the machine and blew some dust off it while looking at it from different angles with growing curiosity.

"Man. Guess you guys' dad will be truly excited to have another sample 100% intact to study." He muttered.

"Huff." Both sighed.

"If you tell him that who knows how much time he'll spend closed in the lab going over it…" Blood Shadow groaned.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah…"

"Charlie~ Team. Analog Snatcher Leo – sama~… Give us a break, will ya~?"

"OK. Joking, joking… Let the guys and girls hit the wall! Heh, heh, heh!"


	5. Chapter 5: Past

**Chapter 5: Past**

16:21 PM (Japan Time), Sunday June the 12th…

"… If that guy is punctual, then… He'll be there in 15 minutes."

"Wro~h… I'm looking forward to a burning battle."

Past, wearing a brown motorbike helmet with his _Kanji_ set on it was standing next to his brown Toyota bike: a Duel Stage had been set on the ground of the basement room and he was holding the Link PET on his right hand while distractedly playing with his left hand's fingers.

"Huh? _Aibou_! There's a call from someone in Mexico…" The Navi reported with a hint of surprise.

"Mexico…? Patch it through just in case." Past commanded.

"O. K."

"_Bienvenidos al universo maligno del pato villano y maligno_!" A heavily accented voice exclaimed.

"What the…?" Past cursed.

"Huh… Well… "Welcome to the evil universe of the evil and malevolent duck!"…"

"What the… Is this guy crazy or totally drunk?" Past sounded dumbfounded.

"Dunno…" The Navi trailed off.

"_Y sepan algo: YO voy a echar al Calderón ese al Infierno y pondré una maldición en su cena: morirán envenados dentro de cinco días a medianoche! Entonces habrá una revolución a sangre e hígado que hará de Méjico el país rojo más poderoso del mundo! __Liderado por Vicente el "Rojo"_! _Hasta la vista, gringos_!" There was some laughter before the call ended.

"What the heck was that about?" Past grumbled.

"Well…" The Navi trailed off again.

"Translate!" Past commanded.

"Eh… "Know something: _I_ will toss that Calderón guy into Hell and I'll place a curse on his supper: they'll die of poison after five days at midnight! Then there'll be a blood n' guts revolution which will turn Mexico into the world's most powerful red country! Leaded by Vincent "Red"! See ya around, _gringos_!" … "Gringo" is Mexican slang for the Ameroupe guys: and I really think the guy is crazy." The Navi translated.

"Vincent "Red"…? Ah. The former CIA agent… An expert in disguise… It'd seem he's sinking into being a drunkard. Whatever." Past shrugged.

"Oi! Someone triggered the perimeter sensors: the guy came!"

"Good! Let's get ready for the showdown." Past sounded satisfied.

Footsteps came closer and Nelaus calmly walked down the stairs into the basement while having his Link PET ready.

"You came." Past told him.

"Obviously. Showdown!"

"You go first."

"Plug In! Isaac, Transmission!"

"Plug In! Balrog, Transmission!"

Isaac appeared on the Duel Stage's Net Battle arena and Past's Net Navi entered the system: he looked around two meters tall.

His head was shaped like a demon's with two blackish horns and reddish eye irises as well as sharp teeth: it was protected by a mail around the whole of its volume.

His body was colored red and had black metallic armor with purple diagonal patterns over the surface.

Two small wings with armor over it came out from behind him as well as a tail with a purple flame on it.

His hands and feet ended in sharp claws.

Purple flames surrounded his body.

He was wielding a wrecking ball and a large sharp lance filled with red thorns all over its surface.

His mere presence radiated an intense heat wave.

"Wroh, hoh, hoh, hoh! My name is Balrog. I'm going to make you plunge into the depths of Khazad-dûm! Then you will climb up the endless stair into the tower atop Zirakzigil! We will battle to death there like my past life did with the envoy of the Gods: the Wizard Gandalf the Grey was able to slain it but my soul has crossed over the Time-Space: and thus I have been reborn in an immortal body! Wroh, hoh, hoh!" He exclaimed.

"This guy is themed after "Durin's Bane": the Balrog living in Moria which the dwarves awakened…" Isaac looked surprised.

"And he knows the dwarves' names for those places, too." Nelaus calmly lifted his eyebrows.

"You better don't look down on Balrog. And the trick Morgangantz used on Prophetess won't work this time around: I set an encrypted password to access the Wi-Fi settings!" Past warned.

"Even if you double that guy's power we've got some aces up our sleeves which you may know about if you did your research."

"The "Bestialize" Special Ability which Vadous developed using a strange Net Navi codenamed the "Synchronizer"… I know what that means." Past told him.

"Heh. I can see you're boiling for a hot battle! My claws will cut through any armor even if it's made of _mithril_! _Blood n' guts_!" Balrog laughed and swung his claws.

"Balrog! Go all out on the guy. Then we'll consider if we need the Annihilator Chip or not." Past commanded.

"Roger, _aibou_! Death Wrecking Ball!"

"Battle Chip, Iron Body! Slot In!"

The wrecking ball bounced off the golden glow surrounding Isaac and Balrog calmly reeled it back in before stepping back and taking out his lance: he ran forward and plunged his lance into Isaac's body: its end suddenly transformed into the Drill Arm Battle Chip and began to drill through the Iron Body.

"What!" Isaac gasped.

"I've got several tricks up my sleeves, too! Drill Lance!" Balrog laughed.

The Drill Lance shattered the Iron Body and inflicted a wound on Isaac's lower torso: Balrog then hit him with his tail: Isaac was sent flying and he crashed against the ground in a hard manner.

"Crap. He's Breaker and Flame combined… Swords won't do any good in here and nor will barriers…" Isaac muttered.

"Eh… Then… Battle Chip, Bubble Side! Slot In!" Nelaus commanded.

"Bubble Side!"

The attack hit Balrog but the water evaporated on contact and his flames lost nothing of their power.

"Balrog Breath!"

Balrog exhaled a torrent of flames which inflicted some wounds on Isaac and he made a grimace.

"Nelaus! Give me something more powerful!" He called out.

"Here! Battle Chip, Geyser! Slot In!"

"Geyser!"

The Geyser hit Balrog from beneath and caused for some vapor to build up around the area: he suddenly dashed forward and plunged his claws into Isaac's upper body before kicking him away: his flames had lost some power but were still active.

"Shit. We'll need a firefighters' truck at this rate." Isaac cursed.

"I'd rather say_ three_ firefighters' trucks." Past sarcastically replied.

"So you're a pyromaniac?" Nelaus tried to guess.

"Wrong. I'm a _bounty hunter_."

"You look after Boba Feet, maybe?"

"No. I deal with anything related to the so-called "Secret Empire" stuff or individuals who have committed sins." Past calmly replied.

"The "Secret Empire"… I see. So you beat them down and claim the bounty set by their rivals?" Nelaus guessed.

"Not exactly. That "bounty hunter" title is a false lead. I chase after them out of my own motivations and I then steal some money from them to keep the police on thinking I really am a "bounty hunter"." Past shrugged and didn't seem to care.

"Hum. And wouldn't you be in a conflict with Prophetess, then?"

"No. Prophetess only boasts that to intimidate: she's just a mercenary who's hired for several jobs. But she isn't a sadist, so… I've got nothing to be angered by. And, besides, internal fights are pointless." Past calmly admitted.

"Well then… Let's continue. Battle Chip, Ice Cannon Ball! Slot In!"

"Balrog! Go!" Past commanded.

"Ice Cannon Ball!" Isaac exclaimed.

The blue spheroid hit Balrog and the consequent melting and evaporation extinguished his flames: he calmly stepped forward and began to swing the Death Wrecking Ball above his head.

"Death Wrecking Ball!"

He shot it forward at a mad speed: Isaac ducked and skidded across the ground thus making it hit the ground instead: he ran towards Balrog as he was still reeling it inside.

"Battle Chip, Gold Fist, Drill Arm! Double Slot It!"

"Take this!" Isaac exclaimed.

He jumped on top of him and hit the face with the Golden Fist while plunging the Drill Arm into his upper body.

"Guo~h!" Balrog roared and his eyes emitted a red flash.

He suddenly flew skywards and spun around his axis thus shaking Isaac off him and then he plunged towards him while aiming his lance towards Isaac: he rolled across the ground while Balrog plunged the lance into the ground: a heat shockwave ensued and Balrog laughed.

"Wroh, hoh, hoh…! How's that, Net Savior? You haven't even taken out 200 HP of my 1400 HP!" He laughed.

"One seventh… And if he uses the Annihilator Chip, his max HP will climb to 2800 HP… They're dangerous enough at 50%...! They must be deadly at a 100%...!" Nelaus muttered.

"Feeling the despair, Rainon?" Past taunted.

"No. I can feel a Yuuzhan Vong spying on us."

"Very funny. Jedi can't feel Yuuzhan Vong through the Force." Past drily replied.

"So you've read about the Yuuzan Vong War… But don't spoil the ending for me: I want to try to read the novels and find out myself." Nelaus grinned at him.

"Hmpf. Whatever!"

"Guro~h! Balrog Storm!"

Balrog beat his wings and some wind began to build up around the arena making it difficult for Isaac to move.

"Isaac! Program Advance! Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In!"

"Giga Cannon!"

Isaac shot the blast and hit Balrog fully: he laughed at and shot the Death Wrecking Ball as a counter: it hit Isaac as he was recovering and left a deep mark on his upper torso.

"At least we've taken out around 700 HP by now…" He muttered.

"Not bad! Balrog Dive!"

Balrog flew skywards and then dived towards Isaac: Isaac jumped towards him and tried to land on his back but Balrog suddenly headed skywards and grabbed Isaac by the shoulders.

"Let go of me!" Isaac growled.

"As you wish, Captain!" He sarcastically replied.

He dropped Isaac into the ground and then dived towards him from above: Isaac managed to jump out of the way but couldn't avoid being hit by the guy's tail: he was sent flying and landing hard against the ground.

"I've accumulated close to 300 HP of damage by now… My max HP is 2700, so… One ninth of the total has been drained." He muttered.

"Hmmm… Let's level this up. Annihilator Chip, Slot In!"

Balrog's flames regenerated and became incandescent red: his eyes turned purple and his claws shone with a purple sparkle as well. The echoing voice of "Puppeteer" rang out.

"So! You lowlife are THE Isaac EXE! Former member of Deadly Pandora and now a Net Savior… Original from Chicago…" "Puppeteer" laughed and sounded amused.

"Correct, _Danna_." Isaac told him.

"Can you stand up to this body's max potential?"

"Yeah! S – Program: Start! Bestialize Style: Greiga!" Isaac exclaimed.

Isaac had gained "beast" armor over his main body.

His helmet had the shape of a beast's mouth plus six triangles spreading in a formation colored golden: a symbol which looked like some kind of orange star was set on the segment of it corresponding to the helmet's forehead.

A black mouth-guard covered the nose and mouth.

The chest armor was colored in a greenish color with thin goldenrod borders and three white shapes in the form of claws placed over the shoulders: a hole in the middle of the armor allowed for the chest emblem to be displayed: there were two pieces of reddish armor built directly underneath the main one.

The forearm armor started slightly below the elbows and contained a red segment before the main piece which had two claws protruding from it and over the hands.

The feet armor started below the knee and included two goldenrod diamond-like shapes over the knees: the feet had red armor just before the fingers started, which had been turned into a set of three claws which looked sharp.

Lastly, he also had a green tail with two golden shapes built near the end of it protruding from his back.

"The S – Program… Interesting! Come!"

"You're named Puppet Man, right?" Isaac guessed.

"If you wish to…"

"Guess so. Greiga Claws!"

Isaac ran forward while dodging the incredibly fast Death Wrecking Ball shots and jumped into Balrog's body: he managed to cut through the flames and leave some slice marks on the armor before he jumped into the air and delivered a kick with his right foot to the enemy's face: he was stunned for some seconds and Isaac took the chance to seize his tail and whip him around before shooting him forward only to crash with the wall.

"What! 300 HP lost in this combo…!" "Puppeteer" gasped.

"So he's lost 1000 HP! This is better. Here I go~!" Isaac exclaimed.

He quickly picked the Death Wrecking Ball and pulled it towards him: he suddenly let go of it and it hit Balrog's face: the armor was cracked and it revealed his reddish skin beneath it: that crest with the _Kanji_ _hametsu_ (annihilation) was glowing on his exposed forehead.

"Bothersome meddling guy!"

"Take this!"

Isaac plunged both claws into the crest and "Puppeteer" howled something as Balrog moved around in a confused manner: Isaac quickly jumped out and picked the lance to plunge it into the crest: it shattered and Balrog collapsed to his knees while his flames died down and his eye color returned to normal.

"What? The crest was destroyed, you say?" He gasped.

"So, that crest is the control program… And attacking it physically harms "Puppeteer", too. I inflicted around 180 HP of damage, so… He should've lost close to 1200 HP: I can finish it with one more attack." Isaac calmly muttered.

"Battle Chip, Aqua Sword! Slot In!"

Isaac jumped and plunged the Aqua Sword into the exposed upper body flesh: Balrog howled and suddenly logged out to reappear inside of his Link PET.

"Crap." Past muttered.

"So?" Nelaus taunted.

"Che. I'll remember this!"

He tossed a flash-bang grenade into the ground and quickly climbed into the bike to exit by climbing up the stairs and then breaking through a first floor window to hit the street: he was soon out of sight while Nelaus calmly crouched and picked up the Duel Stage.

"And this makes four of these. I guess we'll have a stock of them by the time this affair ends. I'll report what happened: but the others might not be so lucky breaking that crest." Nelaus muttered.

"We're making slight progress… That Ancient guy is probably a monk who believes in the Apocalypse, Prophetess is a mercenary and this guy acts the bounty hunter."

"In essence."

"We've yet to find out what "hobbies" Present and Future hold and whom they'll challenge. I believe it won't be long before we hear from the again." Isaac commented as he cancelled his Greiga form and returned to normal.

"O. K. Let's go back home and finish up that fan-game demo." Nelaus suggested with a grin.

"Lead the way." Isaac shrugged.

Nelaus walked out while carrying the Duel Stage and humming a tune: he looked rather amused.

"Oh. Now that I think about it…" Nelaus called out.

"Yeah? Oh. The book reservation, you mean? Don't worry: they just confirmed they received it from the bookstore. You can go pick it up anytime now." Isaac reported.

"Good! I guess I'll spend the summer reading about this period of the _Star Wars_ history: it looks like it'll be an action-packed adventure!" Nelaus grinned and looked eager.

"Heh, heh. Book Man strikes back."

"So! Swordsman. Did you defeat the Hellish Demon?"

"Yamato Man next. Guess that. Maybe you'd fared better?"

"Hmpf. Guess that."

"Heh, heh, heh, heh… Nelaus Rainon. The Court of Owls has sentenced you to… struggle!" A new voice announced in English.

"Darth Bapgei. Are you really a foreigner or do you pretend to?"

"Who knows the answer, my rival?"

"Hmpf. Guess Spoiler Man over there knows that. I'm off."

"Come back anytime. My knives are impatient to lodge in your flesh…"

16:51 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I shall not offer any excuses."

"It doesn't matter: you performed well enough."

Past was using the Link PET to talk with "Priest" while standing in the midst of a forest somewhere with the bike's engine shut off.

"What are my orders, _My Master_?" He asked.

"I'll contact you later on: work on improving the armor."

"Roger."

Past sighed and placed the Link PET on its arm strap before taking off the helmet: he had brown messy hair and blue eyes.

He didn't look older than sixteen years old.

"Sorry, Nelaus – kun. Even if we just know each other from sight by crossing paths at the school… I've already been told to pick you as my rival by my Master. It'll be interesting. I, Arushi Masuko, 3-B student, will fight you again with all I have and without hard feelings." He grinned.

"Well said, _aibou_!" Balrog congratulated.

"Is the recovery proceeding?" Arushi asked.

"Yeah! 30% per complete… That guy was fun to fight: and if he comes with a new strategy next time around then I'll gladly take 'im on twice!"

"Don't mess with that Fire Man guy: he's outside our off-duty sphere of influence and we can't take him on sans permission from Priest – sama: but you can send proxies to stir the guy up." Arushi warned.

"Wroh, hoh, hoh, hoh! It'd seem a _hot_ week is ahead of us two, _aibou_!"

"I'll be counting on you. Let's go back." Arushi made an evil grin.

He put the helmet on and ignited the bike to then head towards the city as he chuckled under his breath.

_The real battle is yet to begin! Until that day… Play with your Wii consoles! _

17:21 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Really… I'd never guessed you like this, Netto."

"Uh… Guess I'm a masochist, after all, Enzan."

Netto was laying face-up on a bed and had some gear on his naked body: there was a thin black leather band set around his neck with a small metallic ring.

There were another two interconnected bands of adjustable bands which passed over his shoulders, ran down his sides and circled around his hips, almost scratching his member.

A small circle had been set on the base of his cock with three bands circling around the whole of his sack.

He also had some metallic pieces set on his forearms which were currently locked together and held by a chain above his head: the chain was connected to the iron railings of the bed.

The ankles also had two small collar-like pieces on them interlinked by a chain thus keeping Netto's legs fully open.

"Heh, heh."

Enzan was thrusting his cock inside of Netto's insides while grabbing both sides of his body: he looked like he was enjoying this while Netto looked calm.

"This is just a game, after all. If I think of it like that then it ain't difficult for me to cope with."

"Sorry if I have these weird manias, but… That thing makes your look hornier to me." Enzan apologized.

"I don't mind if you and Laika think this makes me hornier. It's a game between friends. You gave me the choice to refuse it but I went along anyway, so…"

"And the way you can keep a straight face while I'm playing with you: that's what makes me like you further."

"Heh! Four years into this stuff have taught me well. After the whole "24 hour marathon" deal 4 years ago… The seeds were planted on me."

"Sure."

He made his hands slide down the sides of Netto's body and he then used his thumb fingers to rub Netto's nipples: Netto grinned at Enzan and looked amused.

"Go ahead. Try to make me moan."

"I never back from any challenges." Enzan grinned.

"What did you think of Nelaus' battle?"

"Cool. Now we know another way to turn the tide around."

He began using the index finger next along with the thumb to tease Netto's nipples: he still didn't seem to feel anything: Enzan tried closing the index and middle finger around each nipple's side and gently pull it up: Netto's face didn't change, either: Enzan began to sweat as he tried using the ring finger and the pinky next: Netto hummed the _Star Wars_ tune as if challenging Enzan to try harder: Enzan began to use his wrists next but had no visible effect either.

"By all the… What does it take to excite you?" Enzan cursed.

"Dunno. Ask Ms. Glassy, the fortune-teller."

"Yeah. I guess I'll be doing that one day. How about this?" Enzan suddenly grinned.

He closed his right hand's fingers around Netto's cock head and slowly turned it around while he used the left one to grip Netto's balls: he did gasp and looked excited at this new form of teasing: Enzan grinned and picked up an ice cube from a metal container which was filled with water to cool Coca-Cola cans: he rubbed it against Netto's nipples and they turned hard: Netto began to moan and Enzan increased his pace of thrusting in and out of the brunette's boy's insides as he rubbed his cock at a quick speed: Netto cried as he released and Enzan overfilled his insides as well.

"Whoa!"

He then collapsed on Netto's torso and panted from the effort as he felt the liquid sliding down his cock and Netto's cock staining his lower body: Netto was panting and seemingly recovering from the sudden effort while Enzan chuckled.

"I win."

"Yeah… I owe you a Coca – Cola." Netto replied.

"Heh, heh! Okay."

He moved forward and rubbed his cock to get it hard: Netto calmly opened closed his eyes and opened his mouth: Enzan stuffed his cock inside of it: he then gripped Netto's head from behind with both hands and began to set a pace: he started at a low speed but eventually increased it.

"I'm going off." He whispered.

He grinned as he released and overfilled Netto's mouth with his white liquid: he looked on how it slid down his chin and dropped into his upper chest area: Enzan took it out and positioned himself to be able to kiss Netto while rubbing his cock against his: Enzan put some more effort into it and both of them released at the same time: they broke the kiss apart and looked at the white string of saliva connecting them.

"So. The _white string of fate_, eh? Guess we're destined to have some fate together, Mr. Fantasy Cliché would say." Netto joked.

"Yeah. Let's clean up."

They licked each other's stains off before going in for a new kiss and soon breaking apart: Enzan unlocked the forearms and removed the chain on the ankles so Netto calmly sat up, removed the pieces on the forearms, and rubbed them while humming a tune: Enzan picked some tissues and cleansed his stains while Netto also did the same as he removed the rest of the gear and stored it on a small suitcase.

"So?"

"Well… I'll admit that I wasn't ready for that teasing you came up with, Enzan. But you know Dragon – san's proverb: "fool me once, you're to shame. Fool me twice, I'm to shame": no-one gets fooled twice."

"Sure thing. Let's dress back." Enzan blinked him an eye.

"Roger, Vice President – sama!"

"Jeez. Stop calling me like that, Netto!"

"Too bad. I feel like it."

"Lovely."

"So? Did Dr. Lartes complain about your newest diet?"

"Sure did. Too many grease and fats."

"I saw it coming 5 miles away."

"8 kilometers away, huh?"

"Sure. By the way: do you know what UHF means, VP – sama~?"

"UHF? Rings a bell somewhere… Eh… Isn't that a musical group?"

"Nope. That's U2."

"I give up."

"Ultra High Frequency! A segment of the EM spectrum in which most TV channels are emitted, see… It ranges from 470 to about 870 MHz, you see~! Surprised?"

"Jeez. I knew I was forgetting that but then again I don't need to know that to do my work, Netto."

"My bad. I just wanted to test ya."

They began to dress up and finished: Enzan stored the suitcase in the closet and locked it up with a key while humming a tune.

"OK. Let's go."

"OK, VP – sama~… Heh, heh, heh, heh."

18:02 PM (Japan Time)…

"… How was it like, Netto - kun?"

"Oh. You know Enzan, niisan. He had new tricks to actually break my poker face when he pulled out two Jokers outta his sleeves."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! I get it: Ijuuin had a Walter PPK7 under the table!"

"Come on!"

Netto and Saito were chatting as they made their way back home: Netto was blinking Saito the right eye thus making him look amused: Sigma came up with a joke and, as usual, Blood Shadow found it to be out of context as evidenced by his dry reply.

"Mwah, hah, hah. Blood! You're drier than the Sahara." Sigma laughed.

"And you could make the guys running _Unbelievable Truth_ run for their pounds since you have more skill when it comes to "smuggling" truths past a sea of lies and exaggerations." Blood Shadow calmly replied.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! Good idea!"

"Knowing Sigma, he'll have scared half of them out just by showing up there."

"Oi, oi…" Netto didn't seem to find it funny.

"Saito – kun! Please don't give the guy ideas." Blood Shadow requested in an exasperated tone of voice.

"Sure. I'll give him a billion blistering barnacles instead." Saito giggled.

"No good, no good…!"

"Niisan can get weird from time to time." Netto muttered.

"Nope! I get _innovative_." Saito replied.

"Mwah, hah, hah! The Eternal Frustration strikes back!" Sigma laughed.

Netto and Blood Shadow sighed in defeat with Sigma and Saito either chuckled or giggled…


	6. Chapter 6: Present

**Chapter 6: Present**

10:58 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday June the 14th…

"… Break time. Make sure to leave everything ordered."

"_Hai_~!"

The students of class 3-A quickly placed the chairs correctly as they picked their breakfasts and came out of the classroom: some headed outside and others headed to the restrooms.

"Well! It'd seem our results are just like we expected them to be." Netto commented to Saito as they walked down the stairs.

"Yeah! All of our hard work paid off." Saito smiled.

"Cha two… Cha better tell me the true colors of that bunch of funky people!" Yaito grumbled.

"What funky people?" Ooayama Dekao frowned.

"You never catch up with anything! Do you, Dekao – kun?" Hikawa Tooru rolled his eyes.

"He's slower than a tortoise!" Sakurai Meiru grinned.

"No: slower than an elephant." Aura giggled.

"No way!" Dekao gasped.

"Yaito – chan… If you're still annoyed at Omega's prank then cool it off already…" Netto rolled his eyes.

"It was a good joke." Saito giggled.

"Hmpf!" Yaito played the offended.

"Yaito – chan… You're very smart, but there are persons who have more experience and intelligence out there. You can't pretend you're the core of the Universe." Meiru sighed.

"Yeah. So why don't you cool off by diving into that super swimming pool at your house?" Aura suggested.

11:02 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Gotta go for a break…"

Arushi entered the men's toilet and headed for one open stall: two figures suddenly came out of hiding behind an open door and dragged him inside of an empty stall while muffling his mouth and gripping his arms: they closed the door.

"Good catch. This guy looks like a newbie." A 4th grade guy sneered.

"Heh, heh. Let's test it out." The other chuckled.

He unfastened Arushi's belt and forced his pants down while pulling his white boxers down as well: he looked eager.

"Good stuff over here… Let's try it out." He chuckled.

"Yeah. Let's go." The first one chuckled.

Arushi suddenly used the force of his skull to violently hit the guy behind him and break his nose: he let go out of instinct and Arushi kicked the other guy on his privates with both feet: he howled and collapsed in pain into the ground as he quickly pulled up his pants and boxers before fastening the belt and running off the stall: he was looking behind as he ran out so he collided with Nelaus, who was coming on.

"Sorry!"

"What's going on?" Nelaus asked.

"T-those two guys… They tried to _rape_ me!" Arushi exclaimed.

"What?" Nelaus uttered.

"What's this scandal?" A voice asked.

A teacher came in and looked at the panorama.

"Kumotori – sensei! Those two 4th grade students attempted to actually rape me!" Arushi reported.

"WHAT?" Kumotori roared.

The two guys suddenly recovered and gasped upon spotting Kumotori there.

"Wait a minute… I'm the homeroom teacher for 4-A and I impart classes on 4-B… But I don't recognize these two… I see! You two aren't students of this school: you've snuck inside!" Kumotori realized.

"Crap." Both muttered.

"Call the police." Kumotori ordered.

"Roger!"

Nelaus ran off while both guys recoiled and looked nervous: Kumotori calmly stood there.

"Don't try anything: I'm a black belt _judoka_." He warned.

"Crap." Both gasped.

The sound of a police car rang out and, five minutes later, two policemen rushed in: they aimed their service revolvers at the two delinquents while a third came and took out handcuffs.

"You're under arrest for attempted rape!" He announced.

They handcuffed them and took them out of the building amongst the surprise of the other students, gathered around the front of the building: they made them climb into the patrol car and left.

"Are you alright?" Kumotori asked Arushi.

"Yes, _sensei_. I could fight back with my self-defense classes." Arushi admitted with a sigh of relief.

"Well done. What was your name?" Kumotori smiled.

"Arushi. Arushi Masuko, sir." He introduced himself.

"Class 3-B, right? I know Ochinawa – sensei, your homeroom teacher, well enough. Ops. It's already 11:22 AM… I should go back. Go back, too."

"Roger, sir."

Arushi returned into his classroom and sat down on his chair while sighing in relief: he then brought up the notebook and textbook for the next class: the students began coming in and were talking about what had happened a little while ago.

"… They say they weren't students from here…!" A girl was telling another in a hushed tone.

"… They were criminals who snuck in at this time and tried to rob peoples' wallets, too…! I'm glad they found them out!" Another replied.

"… What you do think, Arushi – kun?" A student asked him.

This student had brownish eye irises and chestnut-colored hair.

"Oh. Eboshi Shuuichi – kun. Well… I'm glad they caught them. Robbers are getting more violent nowadays." Arushi replied.

"True. Say… Can I invite you to my house this afternoon? I want to show you something." Eboshi asked.

"Sure. I don't have any deals for this afternoon, anyway. I'll gladly come over, Eboshi – kun."

"Thank you, Arushi – kun!"

Eboshi sat on his seat behind Arushi as the teacher came in.

"Good morning, _sensei_!" The students chorused.

"Good morning. I have something to announce to the class."

Whispers filled the air: the teacher cleared his throat and it quickly became silent.

"Good. Two criminals have been arrested today while they tried to assault and rob a student: they have been identified as not being part of this school's alumni. As a safety measure, if who you think is a student of a higher grade than you approaches you inside the school, they'll be obliged to prove their ID with the school card. Remember this."

"_Hai_~!" Everyone chorused.

11:13 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Really… So that gal wasn't what she claimed to be, after all?"

"Nope. She's just a run-of-the-mill mercenary."

"Phew."

"Heh! The _Sheriff_ will kick 'em outta the _Saloon_!"

Charles and Davis were speaking with another guy while sitting in chairs placed inside of Charles' office.

He looked around a bit younger than Charles by one or two years and shorter by about 4 to 5 centimeters.

He had unkempt reddish hair and brown eye irises which currently depicted seriousness.

He sported a golden-colored sleeveless vest which was open and he had a black t-shirt underneath it: he also wore blue jeans with a modern-looking double-row belt.

He had an arm strap for a Link PET on his right arm: the Link PET was colored in camouflage colors.

Its emblem was a skull colored black and with blue eyes set against a silver background.

"Martin Blackdesu: you just took a lot of stress outta me."

"Well, I'm glad of it Charles." Martin smiled.

"So! Mr. _Sheriff_ will reward us with the tune of his revolvers today as well?" Davis asked someone.

"Sure thing!" A heavy voice with some Texas accent rang out.

"Lander. Come out and say hi, will ya? It's been two months since we last saw each other, after all!" Martin smiled at the Link PET and blinked it the right eye.

"Roger!"

Martin's Navi projected from inside of his Link PET.

He wore a Mexican-style hat over his brown dust – colored helmet which also had some random blue and black dots scattered around it.

His main body was colored navy blue and he had a blackish vest over the torso which he had open.

He exhibited a _Sheriff_'s star on the right side of his torso.

His shoulders were anatomically correct and they had brass plating over them: the arms' length and the elbows were colored brown too and his forearms were green with two orange circling bands on them.

His wrists had metallic bracelets on them.

He sported a black leather belt with two Colt revolvers on it along with bullets on his waist.

His legs were also colored brown but he had jeans over them which ended at the start of his boots.

The boots were colored black and they had blue and brown dots scattered on them.

"Heh, heh! _Sheriff_ Lander will toss all those creeps into the dungeon 'cause they broke the _Saloon_!" He chuckled.

"So… How do we tackle it?" Charles asked Martin.

"I can try intercepting it by posting a job in an infamous board: she will bait and I'll get the bike's registration plate at the very least. She might change it but I'll have readied something to follow its trails… A little off-tuning of the engine could make its IR signature be easier to pick up or a little mark on the tires… I could also modify the exhaust to emit less gas and stand out." Martin suggested.

"Whoa. You've really thought it up! Well then… I'll be leaving that on your hands, Martin." Charles grinned.

"I guess your friend the stone slab will send ya to explore Coruscant soon enough, Davis?" Lander joked.

"Guess so." Davis grinned.

"I'll be going back. I've got some work to do for the Net Police: I'm a Net Savior, you know." Martin told Charles as he stood up.

"Beware of fiery fan-girls." Charles grinned.

"I get the joke." Martin sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Did Commander Magden stop trailing you two?" Davis asked Lander in a hushed tone.

"Yeah. Her daddy scolded her and she didn't dare to do anything like that again." Lander grinned.

"Mr. Shoes will guide ya, Martin." Charles grinned.

"And Mr. Cabbage will invent the Cabbage Rock & Roll genre to make all newbies jump outta the ground." Martin improvised.

"Uncle Cabbage will come and sue them for copyright violation 'cause they used his name sans consent." Lander grinned.

"Heh, heh, heh. The damned mice are squeaking?"

"Damn. Cosmo Man next?"

"Soon a great calamity will ensue… The collapse of the Salvation Tower!"

"Stop bringing up _Tales of Symphonia_!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Let your anger rise! I shall absorb it and it shall feed "Nebula Grey"… Hatred feeds hatred and the Dark Side!"

"Huff. I'm fed up with the _Star Wars_ talk. And I still agree that Kanou Shade going to exile with Kuroshiro was a good idea. With this guy around the poor fellow couldn't have been able to live peacefully."

"Yeah… Oi! Cosmo Man! Super Man is going to fight Universe Man!"

"Hmpf. Then I shall annihilate both of them and be crowned. Heh, heh.

"Huff. We shook them off somehow, Martin… Good improving… When will Twilight stop teasing us and fight us for real, anyway?"

11:29 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Priest – sama."

"Ah. Present. Punctual, I see."

"Yes, sir. Please command me."

The man known as Present was kneeling in front of the LCD screen: he had a navy blue biker's helmet with his codename's _Kanji_ set on its forehead on.

"Do you have any windows to operate this afternoon?"

"Yes, sir. Tuesday is my free day."

"Good! I'm sending you data on the target. Don't be confident with it: it's another type of target and you were able to witness some of its potential and skills." Priest told him.

"Please do not be concerned. My strategy is exactly the opposite: I am part of a closed loop which feeds the confidence back into the opponent as well as questioning what it stands for." Present calmly replied.

"True. And that intriguing strategy is the reason I picked you up to join our organization. But that's enough talking. The data should have arrived by now. Check it out."

Present's Link PET beeped so he checked it out and looked at some data being displayed before placing it back on its strap.

"Target: confirmed. I shall be going." He bowed.

"I'll be counting on you. Rama will guide your road."

The screen shut down, but Present was already heading over to the garage containing his azure Honda bike: he climbed into it, ignited it, and then exited the hideout to join the rush of vehicles.

"Hmmm… I supposed the usual strategy will do fine. If not I shall come up with something else: there's always a second way…" He muttered.

He shrugged and shot forward across the expressway…

16:15 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Well then… See you tomorrow, students."

"Good afternoon, _sensei_!"

The students of Akihara Middle School began to come out and chatted amongst themselves.

"… Really… I'd never thought such things could happen!" Netto was discussing with Saito and Nelaus.

"I should be glad that I was there." Nelaus muttered.

"Society is getting more violent as the years pass…" Saito muttered.

"What are you gossiping about?" Aura asked with a grin as she showed up at Nelaus' right.

"That of the morning…" Nelaus shrugged.

"Ah. True, true. By the way, Nelaus – kun… Can we go to your home together? I miss your exquisite tea."

"Sure."

"Tee, heh, heh! That stone face is to hide that you get nervous by me teasing you~!" Aura giggled.

"I'd say the same for you, Isaac – ku~n!" Felicia blinked him an eye and giggled.

"Who knows?" Isaac shrugged.

"Mwah, hah, hah… Uncle Cabbage does." Sigma laughed.

"Come on…" Blood Shadow grumbled.

"Uncle Cabbage died a lot of years ago…" Netto rolled his eyes.

"And the only thing left is his decrepit farm." Saito added.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Which attracts ghosts!" Sigma laughed.

"Jeez." Blood Shadow grumbled.

"It's been a while." Someone announced.

"Whoa! Laika!"

"Laika – san!"

The group of four stumbled upon Laika waiting for them in the street: he looked as usual and was grinning: Search Man looked in a good mood as he projected with the hologram projector.

"Search Man. You've come back from searching under the stones in Sharo Nation?" Saito asked.

"More or less…" Search Man shrugged.

"What's up, Laika?" Netto asked.

"Oh. The usual stuff…" He admitted.

"Sorry, Laika, but Aura – chan doesn't like waiting, so… We'll talk another day." Nelaus sighed as Aura tugged his right arm.

"_Good luck_." Laika grinned.

"Thanks. We'll need it." Isaac sighed.

"Tee, heh, heh." Felicia giggled.

Nelaus headed away along with Aura while the twins and Laika headed towards their home: they didn't pay heed to a greenish Honda following them at a discrete distance.

"Hum? Hikari! Mail. From… That "Present" guy sent it!" Sigma reported.

"So it's my turn… When and where?" Netto calmly asked.

"17:10 PM, Higureya's roof." Sigma replied.

"Higureya's roof? He must be fond of irony." Saito lifted an eyebrow.

"Hum. According to Miyabi, that guy looks like he's on his 30s or something like that… He might be wiser." Laika muttered.

"O. K. Let's go home and set up a good Battle Chip Folder!"

17: 04 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Here, right?"

"Sure."

Netto and Laika climbed up the fire stairs and reached the roof of the building in which Higureya was hosted at: Present was waiting there while having his helmet on along with the coat: a Duel Stage had been set on the ground.

"I've been waiting. Hikari." He announced.

"So you're Present… You look like a bodybuilder." Netto muttered.

"Guess so. Hmmm? Ah. That man is Sharo Nation's Laika… Nephew to Commissioner Malenkov… Search Man EXE is his Navi. He specializes in long-range attacks and investigations… I read his file." Present calmly listed.

"No wonder." Laika calmly replied.

"Before we begin… I'll ask you one question. Are you invincible?" Present questioned.

"No. I have my limits and there are people whose power exceeds mine and Rock Man's. I don't mind: it's not good to have that feeling because that how's most disgraces happen."

"Good answer. So… Is the Subspace really "right"?" Present questioned him next.

"They have done harm in the past. But they are trying to amend for it and help us in all they can." Netto seemed to have expected it.

"Is Vadous invincible, maybe?"

"No. He has his limits. He's not omnipresent or all-powerful. He simply is "strong". He has his own problems and preoccupations like any normal person."

"Hum. I see. Then my tactic isn't useful here. Go ahead."

"Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"

"Plug In! Axe Man, Transmission!"

Rock Man entered the Duel Stage's Net Battle Arena and was soon faced by his opponent.

His azure eye irises were protected by the helmet's protection

He looked like a medieval knight with azure armor covered in bronze diamond patterns.

He carried a large axe on his right hand and an octahedron shield on his left one adorned with the word "Rama" colored golden.

His legs and arms had sparkling ivory patterns spinning around their surface.

He looked over a meter and eighty tall and his axe emitted an unsettling sparkle of cleanness to it.

"Whoa. He rather looks like a Knight Man rip-off." Rock Man whistled in surprise.

"I am conscious of it. Yet, Present – sama did not notice until that until a while had passed." Axe Man calmly replied.

"So! Are you Breaker – Type, too?" Netto guessed.

"No. I'm Sword – Type." He corrected.

"I find it skeptical about that talk Ancient let out regarding you guys' goals… That was a fake, wasn't it?" Rock Man guessed.

"Hmpf. Correct. But you don't need to know our goals. This is just a mission I've been granted." Axe Man drily replied.

"Showdown." Present calmly announced.

"Showdown! Battle Chip, Golden Fist! Slot In!" Netto confirmed.

Rock Man jumped towards Axe Man: he brought his shield forward and Rock Man's Golden Fist shattered upon hitting it.

"What!"

Axe Man then brought the axe down almost 180º and made a deep cut on Rock Man's bodysuit and chest emblem which exposed his Navi flesh before kicking him away with the right foot: Rock Man landed in the ground with a thud and groaned.

"Battle Chip, Recovery 200! Slot In!"

Rock Man healed but suddenly found Axe Man's axe to be suspended mere inches from his neck's flesh and his tall shadow looming over him: he gasped in fear.

"Battle Chip, Area Steal! Slot In!"

"Axe Execution!"

Rock Man warped just in time as the axe was brought down on the spot where his neck had been at: he appeared five meters away and sighed in relief.

"Y-you're an assassin!" Netto growled.

"That's just Axe Man. My job doesn't involve getting my hands dirty. And I don't waste time." Present calmly replied.

"Soul Unison: Metal Soul! Slot In!"

"Metal Missile, Metal Wheel!"

The two attacks hit Axe Man but he was unfazed: he calmly jumped across the air while swing his axe in a 180º arch: Rock Man brought up his forearms and used their gear form to block the axe off: he then jumped over it and kicked Axe Man in the face before landing behind him and charging up both firsts.

"Metal Break!"

Rock Man delivered two attacks to Axe Man from behind and left some deformations on his stainless armor: he quickly turned around but Rock Man ducked and skidded across the opening on his legs to show up behind him and hit his helmet.

"How's this?"

He caused a persistent echoing song which began to ring out inside of the helmet and dizzy him: Axe Man grumbled something unintelligible and then snapped his left hand's fingers: eight purple flames formed on the edges of the Net Battle Arena along with a small wood stage which had a cut off tree log on it as well as a small vinyl basket.

"What the heck is that?" Netto frowned.

"Damn. An execution stage…! Like in the middle ages…!" Laika grimly muttered.

"Yeah… I'm the executioner! And that's my stage. No Navi has been able to escape my ritual." Axe Man drily announced.

"I see! You were the culprit of those grim Security Navi beheadings in Moscow fifteen days ago! There were rumors of some sect revering the Summer Solstice and that was why they'd done that, but… You people did it to stir up some chaos!" Laiak gasped.

"What?" Netto turned pale.

"Correct. My Operator was busy. Priest – sama granted me a mission. We can pretty much handle on our own and our Operators are just there to distinguish us from the overused Darkloids." Axe Man drily replied.

He snapped his fingers again and the flames turned pale blue: some fog began to crawl into the area and began to take the shape of ghosts: Rock Man stepped back and seemingly tried to keep himself under control by reading his fists: Axe Man suddenly was looming above him and he tried to aim for the neck again: Rock Man ducked and hit the right knee to momentarily stun him and jump out of the way.

"How long will you be able to run?" Axe Man challenged.

"Ask Puppeteer." Rock Man shot back.

"Hmpf. His Grace needn't even come out: I can handle this fine enough on my own. If he needed show up then it'd mean I'm weak." Axe Man seemed to make a smug smile.

"We gotta settle this quickly… Rock Man! Change of plans. Let's go for the O Strategy." Netto called out.

"Good! I was about to suggest the same thing. And these things are cheap: they look like _Ghost-busters_ imitations to begin with." Rock Man calmly replied while he tried to ignore the "ghosts".

"Soul Unison: _Omega_ Soul! Slot In!"

Rock Man's chest emblem radiated with crimson streaks of energy as he gained a new form.

His helmet got Omega's helmet overlapped with his but the ear-pads remained unchanged: the inverted pyramidal jewel on the forehead was replaced by an eight-spoke emerald and a golden line with silver edges spanned across the length of the helmet from behind the jewel to the lower rear edge of the helmet.

His shoulder-plates became vermillion and gained white circuitry patterns over them: his arms' skin became black and his forearms' armor got a new crimson layer with a golden bracelet close to the wrist: the fingers were colored black by now.

The chest got Omega's vest over it and it included the "Omega" symbol colored in white color on both sides of it: a hole had been cut on the center to expose his chest emblem.

His waist got that curious "V" piece of armor on it which formed that cavity in the front and the rear of it.

The legs became black and unadorned and the boots also got that crimson armor with a golden bracelet slightly beneath the start of them: the soils got thicker and were colored in metallic black color.

A large flock of blonde hair formed behind the helmet and reached all the way to the floor.

He lastly got the O – Saber on his right hand colored in a bright emerald color plus the holster for it over his right hip.

"Omega… Soul…!" Axe Man muttered.

"Even the best Net Navi in Atomic Network fell before this power. I'm not bragging but this is one of my best skills." Rock Man announced.

"Hmpf. So you will make it interesting. Whatever. Once I show your headless corpse to the world, humanity will be filled with fear and despair… It's way better than that assassination attempt by Darkloid Desert Man." Axe Man shrugged.

Rock Man suddenly warped in a blur and appeared next to Axe Man: he swung the O – Saber and managed to cut in half the axe's iron bar as well as the shield: he then began a mad set of combos by moving the weapon horizontally, up, down, rolling around and, finally jumping skywards in a diagonal arc: he reached the chest emblem area and used both hands to plunge the weapon there: Axe Man groaned and collapsed into his knees while Rock Man quickly took out a gun-like object and charged it up: he shot a sphere of plasma at the wooden stage, thus incinerating it and quickly shattered the 'ghosts' and the flames: in total, it all had lasted slightly under three minutes.

"Impossible…! 1550 of 1600 HP lost…!" Axe Man groaned.

"W-what power…!" Present gasped.

"The final blow! Hra~h!"

Rock Man jumped into the air and then aimed the sword towards the chest emblem: he plunged it deeper this time and Axe Man roared as he was forced to return to his Link PET.

"I've been… defeated… by a 3rd grader…? That's… impossible…!" Present gasped.

"_Game Over._" Laika coolly announced.

"_Nice_, Rock Man! Plug Out!" Netto grinned.

"So?" Rock Man taunted.

"Damn." Present hissed.

"Flee, you foul man." Search Man coolly taunted.

A "Dimensional Converter" suddenly emerged and warped him outside of the rooftop while both Netto and Laika sighed in relief.

"Hmmm… The way he said "3rd grader" made it sound like a teacher, even… I'd say he must be a college teacher and he surely specializes in European story." Search Man deduced.

"It shouldn't be hard to narrow them down… If he's teaching in a Japanese college…" Laika muttered.

"Whatever. Let's get outta here and pick that stupid machine to give to Higure – san: with some luck he'll think it's a _Frisbee_ disk and play with until it breaks." Netto sarcastically suggested.

"Come on… Netto – kun. Don't be so violent." Rock Man sighed.

"I'm not being violent, Saito – niisan: I'm just fed up with guys who try to murder you or me."

"What can we do?" Saito pointed out.

"I know!"

"Let's go back." Blood Shadow suggested.

"Huff. We need to cool off." Sigma added.

"Why don't I treat you to some playtime at my place? I've got _Mario Kart Wii_: we could do some races." Laika invited.

"We military are supposed to be able to drive vehicles: it's an intriguing way of doing that." Search Man teased.

"Heh, heh! Then I'm in: I'm gonna beat all of your records, Laika!" Netto looked amused.

"Sure." Laika shrugged.

"And I'm gonna beat Search Man's flat tire." Saito giggled.

"I should learn how to replace tires, then." Search Man joked.

The group laughed at the jokes…

17:44 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I shall not present any excuses. I failed my mission. I deserve to be stripped of my rank and say farewell to Rama."

"Present. You're a very competent agent but I can't have you quit yet: it'd ruin the organization. You're the kind of person I need to keep both Prophetess and Future under check: they tend to be too reckless from time to time."

Present was kneeling in front of the LCD screen: he'd taken off his bike helmet and sunglasses to reveal his blond neatly combed hair and his blue eyes: he was currently holding his head down and looked ashamed of his actions: Priest sounded calm.

"What?" He looked up.

"You heard me well. We're not perfect, Present. You aren't and I ain't, either. No – one is perfect. We humanity commit mistakes and learn from them over the years."

"Then…" Present grasped something.

"You're not to blame: you underestimated the opponent and you even acted with confidence. But I'm not going to blame you two for it, Present and Axe Man. Return to your posts and cool off for a few days. Axe Man: try to seed a fake lead to Canada as well to divert some resources there: it'll help win time. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir. By your orders, sir." Both replied.

"Good. Future's debut comes next: we'll see how he handles. You're dismissed. Good afternoon."

The screen turned black and Present stood up: he put on the sunglasses and the helmet before heading over to his bike and climbing into it: he sighed.

"There'll be no second time." He muttered.

The bike ran off the garage and soon vanished within the rush of vehicles…

19:05 PM (Melbourne Time)…

"… Heh! I see. Not bad… That Axe Man wasn't that bad but they forgot to do the homework, as usual… Heh, heh, heh."

"And combined with Master Twilight's misinformation…"

"I'm a genius, yeah."

"Twilight – sama… An email from Vincent "Red" has reached us…"

"Pure coincidence. I've got no business with the guy."

"Should I dispose of it?"

"Nah. Open it up. I wanna have some fun."

"Acknowledged."

"Huff. He can be worse than Dragon Hell's banners."

Twilight and Philip were chatting in their Melbourne house when Freeze Man (inside of a laptop placed atop the desk) reported.

"Hah! Listen to this: "I'm Mr. Welcome and I No Welcome you to my party starring Uncle Cabbage & General Campestre!"…"

"No Welcome to…? How stupid." Philip sighed in defeat.

"Don't be so defeatist, my apprentice!"

"That's easy for Master to say~…"

"You remind of Emil."

"Huff. As in _Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk_? Come on. I'm the "Talon", I'm a Sith Apprentice! I'm better than the guy."

"I mean his "other self"…"

"I won't deny his other self is cool but even so…"

"Heh, heh, heh, heh. Priest… I'll soon figure out you lowlife's true colors!"

"And then… We'll have an ace up our sleeves… Glory to Darth Twilight!"


	7. Chapter 7: Future

**Chapter 7: Future**

09:22 AM (Japan Time), Thursday June the 16th…

"… Man. Another boring salesman… We can do that project by 28% your proposed budget, so please pack your magical wand and screen to go sell this to Gabcom…"

"Enzan – sama…"

"Don't mind me, Blues. I'm being sarcastic."

"Ah. I thought so, sir. I apologize, sir."

"No need to…"

Enzan was working on something while on his IPC office and looked slightly annoyed: Blues seemed to be surprised by Enzan's behavior but Enzan calmed him down.

"A mail has come from Mr. Vadous, Enzan – sama." Blues reported.

"Read it up." Enzan looked interested.

"Yes, sir: "Good morning, Enzan – kun. I hope you're doing fine. I'm just mailing you to set you on your guard about any new diets: Lartes is crispate enough to go out and impose you a healthy Mediterranean diet 'cause he doesn't believe in all those "fabrications" out there. Do you know any good _onsen_ I could recommend him to try out? Yours politely, Vadous." … An _onsen_…" Blues brought a hand to his chin.

"Hmmm… There's one two hours from here by train… I think it'd do well for Mr. Lartes: he must be overworked with his onboard duties even with any extra hands." Enzan muttered.

"Should I write back?"

"Yeah. Reply this: "I would recommend the Nimaya _Onsen_: I've been there myself and their waters are good to treat stress. Yours politely, Ijuuin." … That should do fine." Enzan replied.

"Roger."

Blues exited the PET for a moment as Enzan headed over to a water fountain and served himself a glass of cold water: he then looked out at the streets and spotted something making intermittent flashes: he managed to focus and realized the one making them was a person riding on a brown Toyota.

"Morse code? "C – O – M – E – A – T – T – H – E – P – A – R – K – F – U – T – U – R – E" … "_Kouen he kuru. Mirai."_ … Crap." Enzan muttered each letter and then translated the sentence.

He picked a small plastic cover and made his own set of signals at Future with it.

"Eh… "R - O – G – E – R – B – E – T – H – E – R – E – I – N – 5 – M – I – N – S"… "Ryoukai. Go fun ni socchi he touchaku." … I guess he'll get the message…" Enzan muttered.

Future apparently did because he ran off with the bike: Enzan headed over to the desk and organized everything.

"Enzan – sama. I heard what happened. What strategy should we use? The enemy could be a Breaker – Type: we'd be at a strong disadvantage if that were to be the case." Blues warned.

"Don't worry: I've learnt to carry some Breaker – Type Battle Chips as well, too." Enzan replied as he picked his Battle Chip Pouch.

"Roger."

Enzan ran off the office after leaving a hastily scribbled note reading "URGENT BUSINESS" and used the emergency stairs to climb down into the street: he then headed over to the adjacent park and found the bike parked and chained near the entrance: he spotted a small opening inside of a set of thick and tall trees so he headed inside of it: he found a Duel Stage set on the ground and Future (sporting a brown and yellow helmet with his _Kanji_ set on its forehead) was leaning against a tree.

"I applaud your extra hours, Vice President!" He sarcastically announced.

"You're Future, then." Enzan muttered.

"After you, _Danna_." Future teased.

"Plug In! Blues, Transmission!

"Plug In! Destruction Man, Transmission!"

Blues entered the Duel Stage's Net Battle Arena and met his opponent.

Destruction Man looked close to a meter and eighty tall.

Black shades similar to Blues' own design hid his eyes but his mouth denoted seriousness.

A matrix of nine red spots was set on his forehead.

He had a robot-like designed given his metallic blue and silver armor pieces all over his body.

His armor included a belt while his legs had jets attached to them from behind.

His left arm ended in knife-like fingers and his right arm had an incorporated missile launcher on top of the right palm holding up to 10 missiles.

His body had brown-colored energy conduits which seemed to originate from the chest emblem.

His emblem was set on the center of his armor.

"I'm Destruction Man: and I sweep the ground with the fellas standin' on it!" He announced while speaking Kansai dialect.

"So! You lowlife come from somewhere in the Kansai Region."

"Yeah! I'm rollin' the stones 'round like I was the Rollin' Stones!" Future laughed.

"Hmmm… Are you a college student, maybe?" Enzan tried to guess.

"Close." He admitted.

"High school, then… And I'd bet you're a 1st grader." Enzan guessed next with a smile.

"Correct, _Danna_. Ya should be lookin' out for the birdies singing a melody 'round yer head." Future laughed again.

"Showdown!" Enzan challenged.

"Yessir! Showdown!"

"_Oh yeah_!" Destruction Man exclaimed.

"Battle Chip, Drill Arm! Slot In!"

"Destroy Missile!"

Destruction Man aimed his right arm forward and shot the ten small missiles: Blues was already jumping towards him while making the Drill Arm spin: Destruction Man's chest compartments opened and created a black hole-like phenomena which made Blues' Drill Arm break down into data and then reform on his left forearm: Blues didn't have time to react as the Drill Arm plunged into him and the ten missiles combined their small damage percentage to inflict some damage: Blues growled and jumped back to recover.

"Damn. I get 440 HP off me at the first round… My max HP clocks at 2000… I've lost 22% of my max HP…! This guy is no joke, either!" Blues growled after making some calculations.

"22% in one round… Any normal Navi would've been defeated by now, even…!" Enzan grimly muttered.

"Did ya like Destruction Man's Black Hole Armor, _Danna_? It can steal the enemy's Battle Chippie and use it against 'em!" Future seemed to grin under the helmet.

"Crap. Guess why they sent you after me… You're the type to quickly overwhelm and smuggle some combos for a quick and easy victory!"

"Yo! Catchin' up, _Danna_ – sama? Maybe ya can tell me who the guy I've been chasing for the last four years, Octopus – han, is? The guy has good Kansai dialect yet I can't get any close to findin' out who the heck he is and where does he live at! Priest – sama hoped it'd be easy money 'cause I'm from Kansai to begin with, ya know?" Future teased.

"Octopus – han? The white hat…? I've heard about him but I'm afraid no – one will tell you: he's being employed by the Net Police." Enzan calmly replied.

"I knew that, _Danna_! But I wanna offer 'im a juicy job which the Net Police won't be able to ever offer the guy!"

"Lemme guess: hack into the Pentagon."

"More or less." Future shrugged.

"Hack into the Subspace, then… But their security is _very_ high and you don't wanna piss Omega off: he'd make mincemeat of your Navi so fast that he wouldn't have time to counter." Enzan warned.

"Hum. Guess so…" Future muttered.

"Battle Chip, Golden Fist!"

Blues jumped over the air towards Destruction Man: the guy ignited his jets and drew the left closed punch forward: some small knife-like extensions appeared at the knuckles but Blues calmly changed his course and hit the helmet's forehead with the Golden Fist: the red spots shone and frizzled with electricity.

"What?" Blues gasped.

The red spots' glow increased and a streak of electricity travelled up Blues' body: Destruction Man then punched him in the lower jaw with the right first and sent him into the ground before he calmly landed back as Blues was standing up.

"Damn. The forehead thing analyzes the amount of damage and returns it by a 1.5 amplified percentage… Bronze Fist normally deals 80, so… I've gotten 120 HP of damage… Almost as a normal Silver Fist Battle Chip… This guy is turning dangerous with each attack and I've barely hurt him…!"

"Recovery 300, Slot In!"

"Phew. I lowered to 255 from 555. I now feel better." Blues muttered with a hint of relief.

"Heh, heh, heh. I'd say yer gonna have some trouble with me, Blues! Heh, heh, heh." Destruction Man chuckled.

"Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In!"

"Dream Sword!"

"Come!" Destruction Man challenged.

Blues roared as he swung the Dream Sword: its shockwave left a crevice across the arena and hit Destruction Man who didn't bother to dodge: his forehead spots shone and the Dream Sword was flung back at Blues: he gasped and dodged just in time.

"Phew. That thing almost inflicted 750 HP of damage to me… But that guy took 500 HP in and his normal HP clock at 1650, so… He's lost slightly over a third of his max HP…" Blues muttered.

"Destroy Fist! Go~!"

Destruction Man's fists glowed with red energy until they looked like molten metal and he shot forward with his boots' jets: Blues ducked and grabbed both his right leg and left arm to then perform a _judo_ technique to make them roll across the ground: Blues stood up and so did Destruction Man.

"Nice move! You inflicted 80 HP of damage to me! But this is where it gets thrillin'! Machine Shooters!"

Destruction Man opened some compartments on his arms and drew two small gun muzzles: they began shooting a spree of bullets around the area while Blues dodged and jumped to avoid.

"Battle Chip, Iai Form! Slot In!"

Blues quickly drew a complicated pattern and left some cuts and wounds on Destruction Man's body: he calmly turned around with a broad grin on his face and kept on shooting at Blues.

"Damn. I raise the damage level to 760 but he's unfazed…!" Blues hissed and sounded nervous.

"Battle Chip, Variable Sword! Slot In!"

"Sonic Boom!"

The attack hit Destruction Man again and he calmly shot his ten missiles around: Blues sliced them but then found the guy in front of his noses.

"What!" Blues gasped.

Destruction Man hit him on the chest and kicked him into the ground: Blues quickly used the Variable Sword to block incoming attacks and jumped away.

"890…! Over 50%...!" Blues muttered.

"I see yer startin' to build up hopes… But this can still turn around sans the need of any toys, _Danna_." Future sounded amused.

"Heh, heh, heh. Data Sonic Boom!"

A blue-colored Sonic Boom formed and shot towards Blues: he barely dodged by ducking but it bounced off a wall and hit him from behind thus kicking him into the ground.

"My sensors can help me copy an enemy's attack, too, at 1.5 times its normal power! Heh, heh, heh. Thus, the Data Sonic Boom inflicted 195 HP of damage to ya! I've lifted your damage level to 485 by now!" Destruction Man chuckled.

"Battle Chip, Custom Sword, Heavy Gauge! Slot In!"

Blues dashed forward and hit one of the machinegun muzzles before slicing the other off: he then kicked Destruction Man on the lower jaw and forced him to step back as he readied for a new attack.

"Hum! 150 damage… So I'm at 1040 and over 60% of my total HP by now, it'd seem. Easy money!" He laughed.

"Muramasa Blade!"

"What!" Future gasped.

"Thrillin' comin' straight ahead!" Destruction Man laughed.

"Take this!"

Blues plunged the cursed sword into the forehead sensors and quickly jumped back while the sensors seemingly tried to calculate how much damage they had to deliver back: Destruction Man growled.

"Huff… Huff… I've lost up to 1525 HP and I'm close to my last 135 HP! But! Your attack will be returned with a whoopin' 727.5 HP of damage back at ya! Say bye, Blues! Data Muramasa! _The End_! Bwah, nyah, grah, hah, hah!" Destruction Man laughed.

The brutally amplified attack flew towards Blues: he grinned and seemed to be waiting for it.

"Battle Chip, High Guard! Slot In!" Enzan announced.

"No way!" Future gasped.

Blues drew a slightly oval-shaped green-colored shield which glowed with energy: the attack bounced off while leaving several cracks on Blues' shield and hit Destruction Man: an explosion ensued and he was obviously logged out during it as a large patch of the ground he'd been standing in was deleted.

"So?" Enzan asked with a grin.

"Man! Using Destruction Man's Special Ability against 'im… I should praise ya, _Danna_. It was worth my free time, even! Heh, heh, heh. I was ordered to give ya a message from "Puppeteer", though… He'll be showin' his hide 'round the district soon enough to try ya guys out…"

"So we'll finally get to see Puppeteer…" Enzan muttered.

"I'll be looking forward to it." Blues menaced and drew a Long Sword.

"Heh, heh, heh. Ya guys are trollin' 'round or what? Oh! And tell that Zero guy we'll challegin' 'im one day so he better get Anduril out of Rivendell and train up with it! Have at ya, _Danna_ – sama!"

Future took out a flash bang grenade and detonated it to escape: Enzan heard him climbing into the bike and escaping: he shrugged and grinned…

09:55 AM (Japan Time)…

"… _Danna_ – sama. I'm back."

"You did a good job out there: you actually made them feel angst and proved that the 'unmovable champion' was a mere façade."

Future was standing and saluting in front of the screen: he'd taken out his helmet.

He had messy emerald hair which shot out in several directions at random and equally emerald eye irises:

He looked slightly older than Enzan and was currently smiling.

"What are my orders?" He asked.

"You've got a few days off: remember about the dummy HQ and try to lure them there: a little surprise is waiting for them in there." Priest commanded with a hint of amusement.

"Roger, _Danna_ – sama."

Future stretched headed out into the garage.

"Hiya~!"

"Yo. Missy."

Prophetess came in and took out her helmet.

She had platinum blond hair and icy blue eye irises: she had a smug smile on her face, too, and looked over her twenties.

Part of her suit's zipper was open to reveal her breasts' shape in a provoking manner.

"Hiya~! Our cool boy won't go out in a date with the Miss?" She teased.

"Prophetess. You're hot. But this is a job."

"Tee, heh, heh. Our RoboCop V5 will tease me?" Witch asked him.

"Sorry. But I'm not designed to do stuff." Destruction Man replied.

"Well… I'm going to get my orders. See ya around, _handsome_. _No pain_, _no gain_! Tee, heh, heh." Prophetess blew him a provoking kiss.

"Jeez."

She climbed out of the bike and pulled the zipper up before stepping through the slightly armored door.

"Let's check the bike just in case."

"Check the bike, have you come to?"

"Huff. Save the _Star Wars_ parodies for later."

"Reclaimer: do you need help?"

"Who's that?"

"Dunno."

He put on his sunglasses along with the helmet.

"Let's ride!"

"And let's crave a ride!"

"Jeez."

He climbed into the bike and ran off while jumping over a fence and quickly joining the expressway.

"Make sure to book the VIP seats!" He laughed aloud.

"And to book some popcorn!"

"Nobody books popcorn."

"Call Ms. Pizza and book a ham and pineapple pizza~…"

"Jeez. I'm passing my bad habits into ya…"

"Heh, heh, heh, heh… Zoan Gate Man tells you guys you're cool. See ya."

"Jeez. Legion 64 sniffed us when were battling Ijuuin and found us."

"We don't have the hideout data. I don't care. _Let's have fun and fan_!"

09:08 AM (Japan Time)…

"… I see. So we've had Ancient, Prophetess, Past, Present and Future. And it'd seem the guy named "Puppeteer" which seems to be the leader, Priest's, Net Navi will be making its debut."

"Correct, Mr. Vadous."

Enzan was having a live videoconference with Vadous.

The man was sitting on a black revolving cushioned armchair stopped just in front of a large console with multiple switches, readouts and LEDs: a keyboard and a mouse pad had been integrated with it, too.

Three large interconnected LCD screens were built atop the console and the middle one displayed Enzan's close up: the rest of the room was dimly lit by vertical stripes of LED-cluster-made lights.

Vadous wore some kind of grayish armor made of an unknown material which covered his body and included a chest emblem similar to a Net Navi's with his initial.

A purple torn and ragged cloak originated behind his shoulders and reached all the way behind the feet.

Overall, his armor looked like a rip-off from somewhere else.

"By the way… Enzan – kun. I suggested that _Onsen_ to Lartes and he admitted he needed some days off. I owe you one."

"Please, sir… It was just a little piece of advice…" Enzan politely replied.

"Heh, heh. Anyway… Make sure not to overwork, too. Have some neat figures to show up and get rid of the ominous pressure provoked by a certain person. And I'm not trying to make a pun, mind you."

"I know Mr. Vadous wouldn't and I'll try to follow his piece of advice."

"Later, Enzan – kun."

"Goodbye, sir."

_Let's tell those guys to go direct a puppet festival! Heh, heh, heh!_

11:04 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Well! Today is the last full day. We'll be getting our report cards tomorrow and be able to kick off into summer vacations!"

"Yeah. It'd seem Enzan's tricks at Trumps also work when dealing with though guys…"

"We should ring up "Octopus – han" and tell the guy to go dig under the stones on the Oosaka Castle."

The twins and Nelaus were chatting in an animated manner while sitting on a bench outside of the main school's building: they didn't spot Arushi hidden behind a book about _Samurais _and having a smug smile over his face.

_My, my! These guys know about "Octopus – han": Future was in charge of looking for him! Maybe I can give him a lead: he's a very competent guy after all! Anyway… "Puppeteer" will be making his jump into the stage soon, so… I guess he'll go for something _BIG_. Heh, heh, heh. This is just the introductory portion of the show: the main show is gonna kick off starting tomorrow! Heh, heh, heh._

He made sure to erase the smile and focus on the book as he spotted Eboshi walking over to him.

"Arushi – kun! What did you think of my magic tricks?"

"Cool. I'm sure you'll be a great magician someday, too, like your father, Mr. Hat!" Arushi grinned at him.

"Please…" Eboshi turned red and looked nervous.

"Be careful: that red face is what fan-girls are looking for and I suspect a damsel named "S" is setting her sights on you…" Arushi grinned.

Eboshi gulped and discretely tip-toed away from the scene as Arushi chuckled under his breath.

_Enjoy the show! We're going to get serious!_

His eyes shone with a hint of malice and he inwardly laughed…


	8. Chapter 8: Puppeteer's Debut

**Chapter 8: Puppeteer's Debut**

08:26 AM (Japan Time), Friday June the 17th…

"… Hmmm… I know I'd heard about this somewhere before… If only I could remember where…"

"What are you doing, Regal?"

Dr. Regal turned his revolving chair around to see Dr. Wily walking into the room: it looked like a small office inside of the Science Labs.

"Ah. Father. Well… I'm convinced that the "Annihilator Chip" isn't named like that out of coincidence. And I'm sure someone mentioned something similar to me time ago… I know perfectly that "Annihilation" is also the process in which matter and antimatter destroy each other upon contact generating an energy release equivalent to their mass… Yet… It's bugging me for some reason or another." He admitted.

"So… This could be a lead to their leadership, you mean to say?" Dr. Wily rubbed his moustache.

"I'm highly convinced of it. How is it, Laser Man? Have you found any references by looking up any travels or meetings I did before starting Nebula up?" Dr Regal asked his black Link PET.

Laser Man projected with the hologram and bowed before resuming his earlier standing pose.

"I have just checked the year 2003, Dr. Regal – sama. There was nothing which had to do with physics, energy or related concepts. Should I try 2004 next?" Laser Man asked.

"Try it. I'm sure we're getting closer." Dr. Regal ordered.

"Roger, sir."

Laser Man returned to work while Dr. Regal brought the right hand to his forehead to swipe off some sweat there: he looked nervous and impatient, for once.

"When was it…? Where…?" He muttered.

Alarms suddenly rang out across the complex and a graphic showed up on Dr. Regal's PC screen.

"A Level 1 breach…? Laser Man! Report!" He gasped.

"Dr. Regal – sama. A large number of Viruses have made it inside of the Science Labs by overwhelming the firewall: they sent so many packages at it that it was unable to process all of them and some slipped by the open ports… They came from multiple channels: TCP/IP, SSH, POP3, STMP, DNS, UDP… There must be closed to a hundred of them: a distinctive signature has also been picked up and it's quickly moving towards Level 2." Laser Man calmly reported.

"Curses! And most of the Net Saviors aren't her today, for once, since they're busy elsewhere… Who could help us fight back?" Dr. Wily cursed aloud.

"I'll do." A voice replied.

Detective Misaki rushed in.

"Oh. Detective Misaki Gorou…" Dr. Regal recognized him.

"Plug In! Prism Man, Transmission!"

Prism Man entered the system.

"Laser Man. Can you pick up the spot with the higher Virus concentration rate?" He asked.

"Analyzing… It'd seem the new "maze" is keeping most of them trapped between Level 1 and Level 2. We should head there: I know my way through it." Laser Man reported.

"Let's go!"

Both Navis ran forward and soon found a horde of Viruses blocking their way just short of a large maze-like formation.

"Cross Laser!"

"Prism Lance!"

Laser Man shot a cross-shaped laser blast which bounced off a Mettool and deleted several Viruses: Prism Man jumped around easily and hit the Viruses with his attached lances.

"It'd seem most of the Viruses have stopped coming and are turning back: they must have enough with these." Laser Man reported.

"Z – Saber!"

A figure cut through the air in a blur and sliced several Viruses on its wake: Zero, the former Virus, landed on the ground and quickly began to attack some more of the Viruses at a mad speed.

"I come to have my monthly check-up and a ruckus shows up… What promising summer vacation!" He muttered with some sarcasm on his voice even though his face didn't change.

"Star Breaker Laser!"

"Prism Cannon!"

"Z – Saber!"

The combined firepower overwhelmed the Viruses but the three of them wasted no time running into the maze: a red light scanned them and then turned green as if to confirm they weren't intruders.

"Where is the boss?" Zero asked.

"… Current location: 50 meters NNW of the exit. We can make shortcuts to get to him." Laser Man replied.

"I guess it must be that "Puppeteer" guy who claimed he was going to make his debut." Prism Man deduced.

"Go!" Misaki commanded.

The three of them moved while the walls lowered and they deleted all Viruses roaming around the maze's countless corridors: they soon heard an explosion sound followed by another and some quick pacing.

"What?"

"Damn! The distinctive signature has broken into Level 2: he carries some sort of scrambler which stops sensors from working. I can't get imagery on the intruder!" Meijin cursed over the radio.

"We'll go on ahead! Laser Man! Cover us." Prism Man announced.

"Roger."

"Hmpf. Let's make it show its Halloween hide." Zero muttered with some sarcasm.

"Heh. That's not a bad joke." Dr. Wily grinned.

"Maybe." Dr. Regal drily replied.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…" A hollow chuckle rang out from the Level 2 structure and through the destroyed gateway.

"I knew it: "Puppeteer" is there." Zero muttered.

"Let's fight it!" Prism Man rallied.

They ran into the Level 2 vertical shaft and looked up and down: there were no Viruses yet the air was eerily silent.

"How does it feel? This is nothingness: there's not even sound. Like in outer space, too, but… This is the result of annihilation: there's no even light or sound. Is that ominous sensation crawling into your bodies, Net Navis?" "Puppeteer" announced from somewhere: his voice echoed and seemed to come out of everywhere.

"…"Puppeteer"..." Both muttered.

"That nickname is going to become outdated today… You shall realize the mightiness of Rama!" He challenged.

"Come out!" Prism Man challenged.

"Show your hide." Zero challenged next.

A figure jumped down from the topmost platform and landed in another across the shaft: it was surrounded by a strange distortion which only allowed one to see the outer shape and the body was invisible.

"Stealth camouflage." Both muttered.

"Behold!"

The camouflage slowly reverted and both gasped.

His face was colored in a teal brown color and his eyes' irises were a mix of purple and black: he had a smug smile on his face.

His helmet's forehead had an eight-pointed black and white jewel set on it: three purple stripes travelled from behind to the front.

The Navi was colored white with some black spiral patterns travelling up the arms and legs.

He had two gun-like objects colored black and white respectively and connected to something on his back by thick tubes.

His hands had purple octahedron-shaped patterns on top of them.

His emblem was the already seen "annihilation" logo.

His feet's fingers ended in claw-like extensions.

He seemed to be close to two meters tall.

"My name is Annihilator Man! I obey the will of Priest – sama: the Lord who leads us!" He announced.

"Annihilator Man…!" Both gasped.

"As you can see… I'm designed to handle both matter and antimatter! And you know the result of both of them colliding… Annihilation! Thus I can draw energy from that process and easily delete any object in the proportion equivalent to the mass and power of my attacks! One of these hits could easily take out any Navi…" He announced.

"What!" Everyone gasped.

"You shall regret standing in the way of Rama: Net Saviors! The Godly Punishment is descending upon this Land: annihilation! Then all weak ones shall be ruled by we and the Cyber World will be ours to fully control…!"

"Huh!"

"You lowlifes can't do anything about it: our predecessors bless us! We are continuing what they started: and with their backing, nothing can stop us!" Annihilator Man proclaimed.

"Predecessors… You mean Nebula?"

Laser Man walked into the area and Annihilator Man frowned: he suddenly gasped and stepped back, apparently taken aback.

"La – Laser Man? Impossible! You were deleted over four years ago by Darkloid Shirakami!" He gasped.

"I was undercover on my own until October: I was found out and I was given the chance to atone for our committed sins. Is that not right, Dr. Regal – sama?" Laser Man calmly replied.

"Correct. You're somewhat outdated. I came out of prision about 2 years ago but until a year ago I've been somewhat bothersome because I was being smug and all. Father helped me see things otherwise. After all, what I did with Nebula was a result of his brainwashing experiments." Dr. Regal admitted.

"D-Dr. Regal – dono…!" Annihilator Man gasped.

"I knew it: I've met your master somewhere before. I'll soon have it narrowed down." Dr. Regal muttered.

"T-this can't be…! Then…! What we're doing… Is meaningless? No! There's no such thing…!" He gasped.

"I see: you guys go by the name of "Rama" but that's because you didn't want to make it obvious by naming yourselves "Neo Nebula": you wanted to really continue what they started." Zero deduced.

"This is a big setback! But! I'll prove my power to you! See! Annihilator Beam!"

Both shoulder-mounted cannons hummed and began to produce white-colored and black-colored energy for a few seconds.

"Hah!"

Annihilator Man then brought his hands up and focused the particles there: they began to destroy each other and give way to an irregular sphere of white/grayish coloring: a small set of concentric rings formed around it as if to enclose it and left only one opening.

"It can't be…!" Laser Man gasped.

A focused beam which robbed the sphere of some of its mass hit a wall and there was a white flash which blinded the whole area for a few seconds followed by a shockwave of heat and energy.

"Uwah?"

The chunk of the wall had been neatly deleted and the borders around it became raw data blocks: the edges were sharply ended and there was no blunt mark or hit like in normal attacks.

"See?" He taunted.

"I-it really acts like antimatter…! That sphere _is_ annihilation energy kept under control by magnetic fields…!" Laser Man gasped.

"Such mastery of it…! I can't be mistaken: this is derived from my own super energy research…!" Dr. Regal gasped in horror.

"But of course, Dr. Regal – dono. However… When it comes to battling Navis, I am only allowed to use either "Light" or "Dark": they imitate matter and anti matter, but they can be shot like normal weapons, too. It would be unfair to delete a worthy opponent in one shot: "Light" brings upon heat and blinding yet "Dark" brinks coldness and blackness. Is that fair enough?" He explained.

"Phew." Everyone sighed in relief.

"It'd seem you'd preferred a Star Destroyer instead of me." He laughed.

"How should we proceed?" Prism Man asked Zero in a whisper.

"I'll be bait: it'd seem he draws the energy from some kind of tanks on his back… Sever the wires: aim for them." Zero whispered back.

"Roger." Laser Man acknowledged.

"Whatever you plot is futile! Energy Bombs!"

Annihilator Man charged up pale green-colored energy on his hands' palms and shot it towards the Net Navis: they caused normal explosions and acted just like ballistic bombs upon hitting the ground: Zero quickly jumped ahead while backed by Laser Man.

"Go. Prism Man." Misaki whispered.

Prism Man made it look like another bomb's explosion pushed him off the platform while Laser Man shot thin lasers from his hands' palms and Zero battled at close-quarters with Annihilator Man: he brought up two white-colored Long Swords and blocked Zero while he easily displaced his mass to dodge Laser Man's attacks.

"Is that all?" He taunted.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh. Put up a good show, fellow. Zoan Gate Man says so."

"This one…! And Zoan Gate Man came to see too." Laser Man acted along.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh. I can handle you guys easily without resorting to either "Light" or "Dark" attacks. And let them watch!" He chuckled.

Prism Man silently showed up behind him and spotted two small oxygen tank-like objects attached to Annihilator Man's back and connected to the cannons by thick plastic tubes: he drew his lances and quickly cut them before dropping a Count Bomb behind Annihilator Man's feet: the guy didn't seem to notice anything given how his attention was in keeping the other Navis at bay.

"Crap." Zero grumbled.

He jumped away as if he was trying to go for another strategy: the Count Bomb exploded the platform lost structural integrity so Annihilator Man quickly fell into another and hit his face with the ground: he groaned and carefully stood up as the other three landed in front of him.

"Damn. You tricked me!" He cursed.

"Yeah. We're fond of _cheat codes_." Zero replied with obvious sarcasm on his voice.

"I'd rather say we like using glitches to our benefit." Misaki told him with some sarcasm as well.

"Give it up." Laser Man challenged.

"Che."

Annihilator Man seemingly tried to turn the cannons on but did nothing: he gasped and realized about the cut wires.

"Damn. I forgot to shield by back. Energy Rounds!" He grumbled.

He held his palms up and shot some small rounds of energy towards the trio: Zero used his sword to bounce them off as if he was playing ping-pong or tennis while the other two stood there without doing anything.

"Impossible…! The most powerful Navi in Rama and… I'm being made a fool of by three guys…!" He cursed.

"I guess you don't know what "experience" means. You remind me of that Plasma Man moron and his useless pals." Zero taunted.

"Che." He grumbled.

Some metallic sounds began to ring out at intermittent or continuous intervals: Annihilator Man gasped and stopped while seemingly paying attention to the sounds.

"Morse code! "E – N – O – U – G – H – C – O – M – E – B – A – C – K"… "_Juubun da. Modore._"… It'd seem your boss thinks you haven't done a neat enough job." Zero taunted.

"Che. I'll remember this!"

Annihilator Man snapped his right hand's fingers and a VPN tunnel opened behind him: he jumped inside and it closed

"Annihilator Man…! His true power is terrific." Yuuichirou grimly muttered.

"Just where did I meet his master…?" Dr. Regal muttered.

09:01 AM (Japan Time)…

"… _My Master_: I shall not present any excuses. I failed my mission and I made a fool of myself. I deserve punishment."

"… Cool it down, Annihilator Man… You're starting to sound like you were imitating Present…"

Annihilator Man was crouching inside of one hologram-projecting capsule similar to those that Nebula had used: it was placed inside of a largely unlit room and facing a black armchair shrouded in blackness: a figure could be barely made out sitting on it.

"But… _My Master_. We Rama are serious: failure should be punished to make agents afraid of it and more committed to comply with their missions, sir!" He argued.

"It's not like you're mere grunts who do it out of money… So quit that attitude: we were too over-confident. We'll calmly look back and check what went wrong so that we improve. I said it before: we learn from our mistakes. And we're pals: you're not my servant." Priest told him.

"Ah! Priest – sama… Eh…" Annihilator Man seemed to want to bring something up.

"I know: I wasn't aware of what happened to Dr. Regal – sama. And he'll most likely narrow down on my ID, but… He won't be able to find me just like that. Let's finish working on Strategy Dummy." Priest calmly replied with a shrug.

"Roger."

Annihilator Man bowed and warped out of the capsule: it shut down and descended while Priest sighed and muttered something.

"Dr. Regal – sama… You had your motives, sir, for doing such actions in the present, but… I've come too far. I can't stop this. Only you might be able to, but… I won't give it up so easily… _Father_…" He muttered.

He sighed and leant back on the armchair while all lights faded and blackness surrounded him…


	9. Chapter 9: Dummy

**Chapter 9: Dummy**

09:11 AM (Japan Time), Friday June the 17th…

"… Insofar… We've made sure all doors remain open and can't close behind us, but… This place gives me a bad vibe."

"No wonder…"

"This is too easy."

"Hmpf. A trap…"

Sigma, Blood Shadow, Omega and Zero were walking down through some metallic corridors lightened by fluorescent lights: they looked rather devoid of life and the four of them were continuously checking their surroundings as if expecting a trap.

"Zero. Cover the rear: check out walls, floor and ceiling and take out any wires you see: we can make it back with IR vision in case we need to take the illumination out, too." Omega instructed.

"Fine." Zero shrugged.

"I'm detecting something 50 meters on ahead, Command Omega." Blood Shadow reported: his shades glowed as data streams scrolled across their surface.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. I'll cut it up!" Sigma grinned.

"Good. Let's go!" Omega rallied.

They ran down the corridor and reached a large round room the center of which had a structure which resembled a power core: some black-colored automated Navis were standing in formation around the room: each of them had two Long Swords drawn.

There were about twenty of them spread around the space: a large sealed doorway could be seen on the other end of the room.

"Heh. I knew it." Omega grinned.

"Come at full power!" Sigma challenged.

"Let's go~!"

The Navis ran towards them and tried to attack using their Long Swords: Omega simply cut those by the half and then plunged his O – Saber through their chest emblem: they blew up to reveal Copy Roid remains but he was already moving towards the next one.

"Rubbish." He muttered.

Sigma swung his sword 180º from left to right: the sheer force of it made armor fall off some of the Navis and they hit the ground: Sigma then projected red lasers from his eyes and set the ground around them on fire to defeat them.

"Weak." He grinned.

Blood Shadow let them come close and he then blew them up by placing the shotgun's barrel on their bodies: he also kicked them in the face to distract them and open them to attack by him.

"Easy."

In less than half a minute, only Copy Roid remains were left around the ground and the three of them looked like they'd hadn't even had to sweat at all.

"Too easy. I highly doubt them believing in such security… Zero! How's it going over there?" Omega asked.

"Your guess was correct: the walls, floor and ceiling have empty compartments holding C4: I've cut the wires up for several ones and about 60% of the road is secure. There might be others further outside but I'm going to focus on securing our way out." Zero reported.

"Good. Keep at it: we're going to check the last room and then run outta here… This is obviously a dummy facility they quickly set up to lure us into a trap but it's too _clichéd_." Omega replied.

"Sigma. Do us a favor and handle that doorway."

"Mwah, hah, hah… Piece of a cake!" Sigma grinned.

"I wonder about that."

"Hmpf. So you came out."

A figure dropped from the ceiling and gracefully landed on the ground before standing up.

This figure wore black leather clothes which covered his whole body including a hood with goggles: it design was reminiscent of an owl's face, even.

He carried a belt spanning from the right shoulder to the left flank of his body and which had sheaths for 6 knives: it included a medallion with the drawing of an owl close to the shoulder.

Other equipment included gauntlets: the right one had metallic armor shaped like an owl's face and the left one had some sheaths for smaller knives.

The guy carried leather boots as well and two knife sheaths attached to the belt's waist.

His gear included two short swords' sheaths attached to his back.

His height could be around a meter and sixty.

"Subspace. The Court of Owls has sentenced you to… failure."

"Sure, sure. Sigma. Ignore the guy and open the doorway."

"Hmpf. The "Talon" has spoken."

They jumped back upwards: Sigma left his sword in the ground and rammed into the middle section of the doors using his left shoulder: it bent and Sigma quickly used the small open space to place his fingers and began to push both retractable armored doors left and right until a wide enough opening had been achieved.

"Go!"

Blood Shadow and Omega opened some wall panels and took out all circuitry and wiring connecting to the door's engines.

"Good."

The three of them then rushed into a small round room which had a cone-shaped platform with a black armchair set atop it: a figure was looking towards them without moving.

"Welcome to Rama." Priest announced through some speakers.

"We know that's a puppet: you're not here, Priest. So bring out your so-classical "trap"..." Omega challenged.

"Heh, heh, heh. As expected… If you want a trap so badly, then I'll give it to you… How fast can you guys run? Code 222: Engage. Time limit: 300 seconds. Heh, heh, heh. _Bye – bye_." Priest chuckled.

"Warning. Code 222. Code 222. Warning. Evacuate premises. Time left until Code 222 execution… 294 seconds."

The group was already running off as all lights were replaced by red lighting and spinning patrol-car like lights along with loud horns and claxons.

"Hmpf. 290 seconds is more than enough to get outta here… But let's go fast nevertheless." Omega muttered.

"Roger."

"I've nullified about 80% of all C4: the only remaining portion is the fake power core area and the fake control room. But I can see you're already outta it, anyway." Zero reported.

"Sure. Go on ahead: meet you at the exit. We'll be there in about 80 seconds, more or less." Omega grinned.

"O. K."

"Let's go~!" Omega rallied.

"Roger!"

"Ou!"

"I'm getting out too. Nelaus Rainon will soon be visited by me. Heh."

09:18 AM (Japan Time)…

"… They should be about to come out…"

Zero was pacing outside of the broken entrance of an underground refuge entrance: a ramp was leading downwards and headed towards a set of nearby green hills: the claxons and horns could be clearly heard coming out of the refuge.

"They should be about to come out." He muttered.

In effect: the three of them ran out at that moment and stopped to recover from the sprint.

"… 100 seconds until Code 222 execution: control room and core room have been sterilized yet entrance/exit corridor cannot be sterilized: no connection found with C4 charges." The auto-voice reported.

"You'll be making a ruckus in vain, missy." Omega muttered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Come on… Omega. Don't be so rude." Vadous told him over the radio link with a hint of annoyance.

"Sorry, Boss. I felt inspired." Omega shrugged.

"I can see that."

"Yay!" Trill's voice exclaimed.

"Trill! Please! Don't come inside without permission!" Iris sounded exasperated.

"Don't mind it, Iris. Children like him are full of curiosity. And, besides, all critical systems are password-protected, so…" Vadous sounded like he was shrugging.

"See, oneechan? Mister Vadous is a nice mister!" Trill told her.

"I won't deny it but you shouldn't get in the way of adults. And this place is the most critical one in the whole _ship_." Iris insisted.

"Trill knew that, but since Mister Vadous says Trill is full of curiosity…"

"Code 222 enabled. Sterilization." The auto-voice announced.

Nothing spectacular happened and all noises died down: the group ignored that and stood there while watching the surroundings.

"Omega, Blood and Sigma: return. Do as you like, Zero." Vadous commanded.

"Fine. Later." Zero shrugged.

The other three stepped into the purple gateway and vanished while Zero headed over to a nearby Wi-Fi repeater and dematerialized to enter it and leave.

"… Hmmm… Clever guys."

"Yeah. We missed a nice explosion 'cause they were extremely cautious with making their way out…"

"Hmpf."

"Is something the matter, Present – sama?"

"Don't mind him, Ancient. He's impatient."

Past, Present, Future, Ancient and Prophetess were standing at the edge of a close by little wood: both Past and Future had been looking on through binoculars: Present looked impatient while Ancient was bowing and Prophetess shrugged: all expect Ancient had their helmets on.

"Hmpf. True." Present admitted.

"Oi, oi… Ya are still hopin' to get that guy's head?" Future asked in his typical Kansai dialect.

"Once Present sets his goals into something then only the Apocalypse itself can halt him." Past calmly added.

"Hmmm…" Ancient brought a hand to his chin.

"So? Are you two going to compete? You need to decide which one is the most fitting candidate, don't you two?" Prophetess asked both Past and Future.

"No. There's no need for that." Past drily replied.

"We're not gonna dance to that tune, Prophetess." Future shrugged.

"Exactly. You should cut down that aggressive behavior." Present scolded without turning away.

"It could lead to kin-strife." Ancient warned.

"Hum! That'd be a catastrophe." Ronin Man muttered.

"No: it'd be cool." Witch teased.

"Hmpf." Axe Man scoffed.

"Don't see the "cool" in a pointless fight, ya see." Destruction Man argued with her.

"Gandalf was just a worthy opponent because we both were of similar category! After all, we Balrogs were Maiar just like him or Saruman! Morgoth Ou – sama turned us into what we are, yet I, known as "Durin's Bane", didn't go by anyone's orders: I just happened to be nappin' under the Misty Mountains when those little guys excavated too deep!" Balrog laughed.

"There goes the _Lord of the Rings_ walkin' wiki!" Future joked.

"Very funny." Past drily told him.

"So! The reason they codenamed ya "Past" is 'cause you specialize in the "past" of Middle-Earth, ain't that the reason?" Future tried to guess in an amused tone.

"No." Past merely replied.

"You could be named "Future" because you love sci-fi films and how they depict the "future", too." Balrog grinned.

"Wrong." Future grumbled.

"This stiff man over here is named "Present" because he only cares about his everyday work even though he's a History teacher at some college or another. Ain't that ironic?" Prophetess giggled.

"Hmpf." Present scoffed.

"And this guy here is named "Ancient" for a good reason: _Samurai_ began in "ancient" times!" She added.

"Indeed." Ancient admitted.

"Instead of discussing our codenames… Aren't we supposed to do anything else?" Ronin Man asked.

"Stage the new _blood n' guts_ revolution in Mexico and make Vincent "Red" become the new President: we'd have plenty of favors!" Witch laughed.

"Very original." Axe Man drily replied.

"I rather prefer shelling to _blood n' guts_, personally." Destruction Man muttered.

"I'd rather burn everythin' to the ground." Balrog chuckled.

"Then go beat Fire Man." Witch challenged.

"I don't have permission for that." Balrog shot back.

"Hmmm… Then maybe I need to speak with Annihilator Man – sama about it…" Witch grinned.

"That won't do." Future warned.

"You better not irritate Priest – sama, either." Past warned.

"Anyway… Our orders were just to keep an eye to see how they would handle escaping the dummy base. Let's go back before anyone can take notice of our presence." Present commanded.

"Sure, Captain. Lead the way to the nearest pub to enjoy some Coca – Cola taken outta the fridge." Prophetess giggled.

"No good, no good…" Both Past and Future muttered.

"Prophetess – dono…!" Ancient sounded nervous.

They sighed in defeat as Prophetess giggled and Present paid no heed…

10:02 AM (Japan Time)…

"… What nerves! We'll finally get the report and finish up this action-packed 3rd year…!"

"Yeah… I'm looking forward to going to the beach."

"I wouldn't mind going, too."

The students of Class 3-A were nervously chatting as it was the last day of the course: Netto, Saito and Nelaus were engrossed in their own talk: Tooru was discussing something with Dekao while Meiru, Yaito and Aura were talking about something else.

"Ahem, ahem."

The homeroom teacher walked in while carrying several envelopes: the students fell silent and obvious nerves filled the air.

"I'll call each student in the Alphabetical order. Pick your envelope and return to your post in silence. Do not open them until all students have finished because we'll have the end of year ceremony." The teacher instructed.

The order was carried out and everyone stored their envelopes in the backpacks.

"Good. Out to the yard."

They headed off the classroom and down into the yard for the course photo: the students aligned as instructed and a photographer took some photos with a tripod-mounted professional camera: they then were made to return to the classroom and stand behind the desks.

"Well then… It's been a pleasure sharing one year of learning with you, students. I'm sure you'll do fine from now on. Enjoy these well-earned summer vacations." The homeroom teacher announced.

"_Sensei_! Thank you for everything!" All of the students chorused as they bowed forward.

"Thank you." The teacher replied.

He calmly walked out while the students quickly began to chat and pick their backpacks to head out.

"Wow. Summer vacations..! It'll be thrilling!" Netto grinned.

"Yeah. If nothing pops out tomorrow, then we could go to the beach and enjoy some relaxation." Saito suggested.

"Do you mind if I invite along two B Class students I know?" Tooru suggested.

"Sure." Meiru looked up to something.

"We'll teach 'em that the A class is always the best!" Dekao boasted.

"Ah. But who was the one who had to chase you so that you'd study properly enough for the last three years?" Yaito teased.

"Crap." Dekao muttered.

"I guess the answer is obvious." Nelaus chuckled.

They didn't spot Arushi following them while making a natural face: he was inwardly grinning.

_I gotta be thankful that we only had to come around 10:00 AM I could be there to witness what those guys did when running off the dummy HQ: I then rushed towards here and came just in time by using a "Dimensional Converter": I claimed I was ordered to take down some bothersome mice and they didn't question it: no – one is allowed to know about each other's exact mission objectives to compartmentalize information. Well! It's been a nice year for me ever since I began here on September while moving from Kobe. I don't want to set a foot there again: the ghost of the past would be chasing me and I want to bury it. Hence why my codename is "Past" to begin with… Let's keep the mask up! Sometimes the enemy is closer than you think! Heh, heh, heh..._

"You'll be coming along, Arushi – kun?" Eboshi asked him.

"Sure: I'll show you how to peek on girls." Arushi joked.

Eboshi turned deep red while he chuckled…

11:05 AM (Japan Time)…

"… By the way! Mister Vadous!"

"What's up, Trill?"

Vadous was working with the keyboard as Trill sat on a stool to the armchair's right: he looked interested.

"Is Mister Vadous a fan of _Darth Vader_?" Trill asked.

"Huh? But… Those films are not suited for your age, Trill…" Vadous stopped working and frowned.

"But Trill saw an advert over the TV in which a small boy clad in that dress went and did something cool to a car!" Trill exclaimed.

"Ah. Well… More or less. I am somewhat inspired by him, but… It took me a while to find it out: Charles helped me to." Vadous sighed.

"O. K. Trill won't ask anymore." Trill grinned.

"Phew. Thanks." He muttered.

"Trill will go help Mister Kir Osh! See ya!"

Trill ran off by crossing through a narrow metallic corridor and reaching the other end of the room: he stepped into a rectangular platform and it descended along an inclined shaft: Vadous hummed a tune and kept on working.

"If those guys think they have the upper hand, they don't yet. It's still to be seen." He muttered.

"Maybe we should see through it with X – Ray." Omega suggested as he walked into the room.

"Hah. Not bad. Did you find anything worth it on that wreck?"

"Nope. But I guess those guys will panic when I jump onstage."

"Sure." Vadous grinned.

Omega chuckled and looked amused while Vadous hummed a tune…


	10. Chapter 10: Identity

**Chapter 10: Identity**

08:44 AM (Japan Time), Saturday June the 18th…

"… So. Dr. Regal. You have requested for us to gather here since you've made an important discovery?"

"Correct, Commissioner Kifune."

Dr. Regal, Yuuichirou, Dr. Wily, Netto, Saito, Enzan, Laika, Nelaus, Comissioner Kifune, Superintendent Manabe and Detective Misaki were sitting on the chairs inside of the Science Labs' briefing room: Dr. Regal was standing and looked like he had important information.

The twins sported their street clothes.

Netto had picked his classical orange sleeveless vest over a white shirt coupled with his black shorts and his orange sneakers: he'd put his bandana on, too.

Saito had a blue vest, a white shirt, brown shorts and white sneakers on today.

Nelaus sported a simple white buttoned t-shirt, jeans, white socks and black sneakers.

"It concerns the identity of Rama's leader: I have found it out." He announced.

"Oh! You could narrow it down?" Wily asked.

"Correct. Please have a look at this photograph."

Dr. Regal inputted some commands into a terminal a photo was displayed over the LCD screen.

This displayed Dr. Regal crouching next to a boy around ten or eleven years old.

He had silver-like hair and blue eye irises.

He sported a red wool jumper, jeans, thick black socks and a pair of white sneakers.

Dr. Regal sported his usual set of clothes.

The date was set on the lower right corner of the photo:

"LIVERPOOL EMPIRE HOTEL: 23/01/2005"

"Ah… Liverpool. You went there for some conferences back then, didn't you, Regal?" Wily remembered.

"Yes, Father. Let me explain: that boy is named Rick Anderson. I had the privilege of meeting him when he assisted to some conferences I was giving in Liverpool regarding the development of super energy as an alternative clean power source which would eventually make nuclear fission obsolete along with many other forms of producing energy except for wind and solar energy. He was a genius for his age: having already worked on a system to recreate matter and antimatter annihilation in the Cyber World _and_ tap into that reaction to generate energy. I was fascinated by the complex calculations and designs he'd done on his free time so I got fond of him: we spent two weeks together since he lived in Liverpool, too." He explained.

"But you then told him about Nebula?" Wily guessed.

"Correct. I saw great potential on his system and gave him a little helping hand to clear up one or two spots where he was stuck. I admitted about my secret projects but, to my surprise, he'd already guessed it. So I told him to please work hard on his studies and try to finish the system: I'd contact him once I had something for him. Truth is… Since he'd lost his father at a young age, he began to think of me as the father he'd liked to have: he didn't approve of her mother remarrying and had a bad relationship with her, so… He began to deepen into this research to fill that void he had: he was bullied, too, so he had almost no friends. It was no surprise he saw me as someone to look up, a guideline."

"I see… But then, two months later, Nebula was dismantled and you lost contact with him. Given how the years passed… Anderson must've though the time to continue what Nebula began, to be a legacy to it, had come to be. He must've gathered money thanks to Present and Axe Man's large-scale robberies and then used it to create Rama."

"True."

"But he must have doubts about it after yesterday's encounter with Annihilation Man. Yet… I'm afraid he won't be able to stop it having come so far." Kifune deduced.

"I'm afraid that's what has happened: he fits perfectly into the overall picture, too. He was about to turn 12 back in 2005, so… He must about 16 by now. He's mature enough to be able to lead such an organization."

"So, he's around our age… And maybe he's doing the leadership part-time? I mean… He must have just ended 3rd grade, too." Netto muttered.

"King Land finishes earlier. He's been in summer vacations for the last 15 days." Dr. Regal replied.

"I see. And given the bad relationship with her mother and his stepfather, they most likely didn't mind him going elsewhere for a while: it must've been very hard for him to live along them these four long years so it's obvious he'd want to get as far away as possible." Nelaus muttered.

"Yeah. I can guess he's in Japan presently and he got inside in a totally legal way while having a visa: maybe he'll then pretend to go back to King Land but will be able to jump back and forth using "Dimensional Converters" to do it." Enzan guessed.

"That sounds like a very possible _scenario_." Saito shrugged.

"What we should be careful of is Axe Man: he looks like ready to slaughter a hundred Navis at any time. The others aren't that worrisome expect for Annihilator Man but that guy's another story altogether." Laika warned as he leant forward.

"I agree: and I'm pretty sure he'll come back for more."

" Mwah, hah, hah, hah… I'll fill that silly armor with graffiti!" Sigma joked,

"I don't see the point of it." Search Man drily told Sigma.

"There isn't: that's his problem." Isaac warned.

"Let's go."

09:38 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Ah… It feels so good! Not a cloud in sight, plenty of space and calm waters… The sea feels good!"

"Yeah. We found this little spot some years ago: people prefer going to wide and big beaches instead."

"It's very relaxing."

Netto, Saito and Nelaus were swimming in the sea waters of a small beach lodged in a natural bay formation.

Netto sported magenta-colored swimming trunks, Saito's were sand brown-colored and Nelaus' were goldenrod-colored.

Their PETs had been left in the towels close to some changing cabins.

"Yo!"

"We're coming in, too!"

Dekao and Tooru came out and laid their towels in the sand.

Dekao had green-colored swimming trunks while Tooru's were azure-colored.

"My friends from the B class will be joining us soon, too." Tooru told them with a smile.

"Heh! I'll show 'em 'round!" Dekao grinned.

"Mwah, hah, hah… You'll show 'em how ya jump into the water and drain it all!" Sigma's voice rang out from Netto's Link PET.

"Wha~t? Sigma! Ye jerk!" Dekao growled.

"That's more like ya, Ooyama! Or should I say… Ookarada? Hah, hah, hah, ha~h!" Sigma came up with a pun.

"…Huh… "Ookarada"… "Big Body"… Fitting. I've got a _déjà vu_ feeling for some reason or another, though." Nelaus grinned.

"Nelaus! Ye jerk!" Dekao growled next.

"Run across the Sahara 10 times."

"Good one!" Tooru chuckled.

"Hello!"

"Morning."

Eboshi and Arushi walked over to them and also set the towels.

Eboshi's swimming trunks were brown-colored with yellow stripes coiled around the legs while Arushi's were crimson red-colored.

"Eboshi Shuucihi – kun and Arushi Masuko – kun… Eboshi – kun transferred back in 6th grade while Arushi – kun began this same year: he came from Kobe. I think you've met him already." Tooru introduced.

"Oh! I remember you: you were the one who was almost robbed by those two fakes! And yeah. We've met before." Nelaus remembered.

"Yeah! Let's introduce each other again. Arushi Masuko. Nice to meet ya."

"Eboshi Shuuichi. Nice to meet you."

"Nelaus Rainon."

"Ooyama Dekao."

"Hikari Netto!"

"Hikari Saito."

They all shook hands to introduce each other: Arushi made a hidden grin and inwardly chuckled.

_How naïve! The enemy is front of your noses and you treat him like a lifelong friend. Whatever._

"We're ready!"

"We're coming out!"

"We're going to tease you~!"

"Oho?"

Everyone looked at the right side changing cabins: the three girls came out after having changed and everyone looked on.

"How is it? Say something!" Meiru told them.

Meiru sported a goldenrod and azure-stripped bikini: it made her stand out by its bright colors.

Aura had picked a red and blue-stripped one.

Yaito sported a pink one-piece bathing suit along with a straw hat: her forehead shone and everyone had to shield their eyes from its intense bright.

"Heh, heh! Deko – sama always wins." She giggled.

"That's a fashion from the Edo Era…" Aura shrugged.

"But it's a useful weapon." Meiru giggled.

"I wonder about that."

"I'd rather say you could use it if to make Morse code signals without bothering to bring a mirror along."

Enzan and Laika came in as well.

Enzan had reddish-colored trunks with his emblem drawn on the legs.

Laika sported a green one with camouflage colors patches.

"Enzan. You're as mean as always." Yaito drily told him.

"I can't help it: you're too much of a spoiled kid." Enzan grinned.

"And we have enough with the winter to act as weapon to defend the Motherland from invaders." Laika grinned.

"Laika too…! You guys are terrible!" She annoyingly told them.

"So! You're Eboshi – kun. Are you hooked?" Meiru asked him.

"Eh…? Excuse me, Sakurai – san?" Eboshi timidly asked.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" She questioned.

"N-no… Never had…" Eboshi muttered.

"Then you won't mind getting hooked by me, right?" Meiru leant closer and made a smug smile.

"N-no problem…"

"Tooru – kun! Remember: you are hooked to me!" Yaito warned.

"I know… Ever since December, 2007…" Tooru muttered.

"Nelaus – kun! We're a couple and no _clichés_ will work on me." Aura warned him.

"I know." Nelaus looked unimpressed.

"Excuse me, but… I thought you'd pick someone like Netto – kun or Saito – kun, Sakurai – san…" Arushi brought up.

"Oh. They're too dense! I gave up time ago: they don't catch up when it comes to this stuff. I tried going to the cinema with Netto and he was saying the whole film was _clichéd_ 'cause it was! I didn't stand that so we quit there." Meiru fumed.

"That's because you have short temper, Meiru – chan…" Roll sighed in defeat.

"Yeah. That's why." Blood Shadow shrugged.

"Say… I thought Hikari – kun's Navi was named Rock Man… But I don't see him around." Arushi brought up next.

"He likes hanging around the Science Labs and helping the scientists there: given his unique abilities he could serve as a base for future Net Navis so as to improve them." Netto immediately replied.

"Yeah. And for safety reasons we have these two guys: but we don't complain 'cause they're quite nice." Saito shrugged.

"Let's quit the talk and hit the water! Last one buys ice-creams!" Nelaus challenged.

"Oi! Not fair!" Everyone exclaimed.

They ran after Nelaus and they jumped into the water: they laughed and began to splash each other while the Navis looked on.

"Cha. Beware of where cha step." Roll told Felicia.

"My, my." Felicia teased.

"Uh-oh." Glyde gulped.

"Problems, desu…" Ice Man muttered.

"What problems, de gutsu?" Guts Man wondered.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… They're in yer head." Sigma laughed.

"Sigma…" Blood Shadow grumbled.

"That's rather original." Isaac grinned.

"Is everything alright over here?" Omega asked as he walked into the area.

"Commander Omega! There's nothing abnormal to report, sir." Both reported.

Roll suddenly grinned and looked towards Omega: she looked up to something and Felicia lifted the right eyebrow.

"Good morning, Omega – dono~!" She greeted.

"Please call me Omega. I'm not Round Table Knight as far as I know." He chuckled at his joke.

"Say… Are you busy?"

"Not really… But I've got a deal with Trill to go play "dodge the mean mister guard" around 11:00 hours… Why?"

"Tee, heh, heh." Roll looked amused.

"Oi, oi. It can't be…" Blood Shadow muttered.

"Yikes. Trouble, trouble…" Sigma gulped.

Omega frowned but then looked at Ice Man and seemed to catch some message on his shivering.

"Ah… Hum… Well…"

"So?" Roll asked.

"… Fine. As long as we don't do anything… Indecent." Omega sighed.

"Tee, heh, heh. I win." She told Felicia.

"No wonder." She calmly replied.

"… Ah… It was splendid!"

"Yeah. What's up, Blood?"

"Well…"

Netto and Saito were lying in hammocks placed in a patch of the area always covered by the cliff's shadow: Netto had sunglasses on and looked relaxed while Saito was speaking with Blood Shadow: he looked somewhat nervous at something.

"Truth is… Roll – chan hooked Commander Omega!" He told them.

"Wha~t?" They asked in obvious incredulity.

"We're serious. I guess he doesn't want to harm her by saying "no", so he agreed as long as it doesn't go to any "indecent" ends…" Sigma whispered with a hint of nervousness.

"Whoa." Nelaus, lying at Netto's left, whistled in surprise.

"Yeah. I saw it. I guess she got bored of Ice Man." Isaac sighed.

"Good catch, Roll! You deserved someone better than a child model Navi who is on the same league as Gorilla Man."

"Tee, heh, heh. I've trained!" She giggled.

"I'd rather say that was because he didn't want to ruin the friendly relationship." Felicia looked unimpressed.

"Yeah. _No pain_, _no gain_." Aura giggled.

"Enzan is the Reborn Snake God." Yaito laughed.

"Yaito – sama…" Glyde sighed.

"Amusing." Laika grinned.

"I fail to see the fun on such a claim, Laika – sama." Search Man dryly muttered aloud.

"Very original." Enzan, at Saito's right, grumbled.

"Snake God… Tell that to Snake Man and Millionaire." Blues grumbled.

"Oh! True, true! Snake Man! What a jerk! He wanted to trap Rock Man inside of that game! Luckily you two happened to be there and you could help us…" Netto grumbled.

"Yeah. What can you expect from a bored person like Millionaire?" Saito muttered.

"Nothing good. And when I dropped by a year ago Drill Man was messing around too." Nelaus sighed.

"The guy was only good at running: like Grievous."

"Apparently… Given the imagery Umbra and Kanou Shade gathered "Alternate" Blues and Thunder Man investigated some guy using Drill Man to rob some old-styled programs… The guy was good at running there but in the end Thunder Man cornered them and delivered the final blow to put an end to the deal." Netto commented.

"Enzan and Raoul make a good combo."

"Never said we didn't." Enzan got cocky.

"Thunderbird King says otherwise, Enzan – amas." Laika joked.

"Is that Sharo humor or what?"

"… Yeah. Put some more cream on my shoulders."

"Yeah… I'm on it…"

They spotted Yaito lying face-down on her towel and Tooru rubbing her shoulders with solar cream.

He was looking elsewhere as to seemingly hold any temptation at bay.

"Heh, heh, heh! Today is a great day!" Yaito giggled.

"Yeah, yeah…" Tooru muttered.

"It's our victory!" Meiru claimed.

"I'm a genius." Roll giggled.

"I wonder about that." Both Aura and Felicia muttered.

"What am I supposed to do…?" Eboshi sighed.

"Oi, oi… Eboshi – kun. Be more man-like! You've got A Class' Sakurai – sama interested in you. Make sure to fulfill her desires!" Arushi teased him.

"Arushi – kun…! Please…!" He sounded exasperated.

"And don't try to run off with Hikawa – kun, either: her anger will be terrible to witness, I'd say." Arushi whispered.

"Man." Eboshi sighed.

"Excuse me for a min: usual stuff."

Eboshi put on the sandals and headed over to one of the restroom cabins: he made sure to close the door and then took out his Link PET from the dried trunks' right pocket: it was vibrating.

"Balrog! Didn't I tell you not to come for the whole day?" He asked.

"No. It's me." Annihilator Man replied.

"Ah! I apologize, Annihilator Man – sama… Eh… New orders?" He quickly saluted.

"No. I'm just doing a check-up. Your cover is solid enough?" He replied.

"Yes, sir. I always manage to stay in the background." Arushi confirmed.

"Good enough. Keep at it. Over."

_Heh. Nelaus – kun! Next encounter will be wholly different! Heh, heh._


	11. Chapter 11: Virtual Reality

**Chapter 11: Virtual Reality**

07:48 AM (Japan Time), Monday June the 22nd…

"Wow. You're early today, Nelaus."

"Yeah… Something was bugging me, I guess."

Nelaus was standing inside of his house's kitchen and preparing two toasts with some strawberry jam to them.

He placed them on a dish and served some water in a glass before sitting down in the table and slowly began to munch them:

He was wearing navy blue summer pajamas and white socks along with brown slippers.

His Link PET had been left next to his right hand on top of the table.

"But we don't have anything today: even Aura – chan went to Nagoya to see some relatives and will be there for a week's time… Or do you think you shouldn't get bad habits?" Isaac brought up.

"Guess that's part of it, too… But I really wanna take part in a VR mission: I'm missing those. I need some thrill." Nelaus muttered.

"Good idea: we could wait for the twins to wake up, too, and then Mr. Denpa would come pick us up: it's been a while since we've seen him around… I guess some investigation popped out." Isaac grinned.

"No wonder. The "Committee" is putting a large crackdown on organized crime in some of the most important Japanese regions…" Nelaus shrugged and drank some water.

"By the way, Nelaus… You know what happens next Monday?" Isaac brought up with a smile.

"Monday? Is there a national holiday or what? Sorry. I'm still not really used to the Japanese national holiday calendar…" Nelaus frowned.

"No… It has nothing to do with Japanese national holidays… It's an important day!" Isaac replied.

"Hmmm… Someone's birthday, you mean to say?" Nelaus frowned.

"Yours."

Nelaus coughed and spat some water: he panted and tried to recover his breath.

"Mine!" He gasped.

"You're not gonna tell me you'd forgotten… I guess so many things in just 358 days have been too much for you to handle." Isaac lifted his eyebrows and sounded surprised.

"How could I…? 17… Wow. Only one year… It seems it was yesterday when I was working for Deadly Pandora…!" Nelaus gasped.

"I can't blame you, then… Don't be surprised if the guys throw you a surprise party, even. I heard that even the twins forgot their 15th birthday that summer and the Subspace threw a surprise party at them because it was an important moment: they were gonna begin the second half of middle school. This year's party was slightly scaled down but you saw how cool it was nevertheless." Isaac grinned.

"And I even thought I wouldn't age…" Nelaus muttered.

"Silly. You age. Just because Maria had messed with your genes to try to write off "love", "shyness" and made you sterile that doesn't mean you don't age as a normal person. Sure, maybe you won't grow much hair in either the face or the body, but… Hey. You'll look cool."

"Guess so… I better get ready for any surprise party they throw at me… I'll like it: I'm sure of it." Nelaus looked animated.

He finished his breakfast and cleansed up before heading upstairs and checking his cupboard.

He picked up a white t-shirt, a pair of black boxers, jeans and white socks: he calmly dressed up and then folded his pajamas and socks to place them under the pillow as he fixed and arranged the bed back.

"Good."

07:59 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Oi. _Aibou_. All systems are now down and security is outta the league, too! Ya can make your entrance: I'll play along my theme."

"Hmpf. Do as you like."

Past was riding his motorbike which was parked near a decrepit-looking building which the name "BLACK BINDINGS" written on its façade: two grunt-looking men were standing next to the entrance.

The building's windows were painted black.

It was just two meters tall and surrounded by concrete walls which had glass shards embedded on top of them: it seemed to be eight meters wide by ten large.

Warehouses were erected at both left and right of it.

"Let's go." Past commanded.

"Wroh, hoh, hoh, hoh! Burnin' flames are comin' to burn ya guys!"

"Yeah. Future has been sticking his Kansai dialect into you."

He opened the rear box and took out a Heckler & Koch sub-machinegun: he checked its ammunition and quickly shot at the two thugs' feet to scare them: he accelerated and spun the bike around to hit them with the sides and knock them away.

"You're in the way." He announced.

He then shot at the main door's handle and burst in with the bike into a small hall: he quickly descended a ramp leading to a basement room and broke the lock of an armored with a short burst of bullets.

"Out of the way!"

He rammed into it with the bike to open it and quickly aimed at four or five thugs who'd been sitting on chairs placed around a desk set in the middle of a dimly lit stone corridor while playing Trumps and drinking beer: they stood up and looked baffled.

"What?" They all gasped.

"Lift your hands." Past ordered.

"Who the hell are you lowlife?" One demanded.

"A bounty hunter: I'll be rewarded if you lowlifes go down." He immediately replied while using the "ore" personal pronoun.

"Damn." They cursed.

The sound of police cars' sirens filled the air: Past suddenly jumped out of the bike and landed on top of the table to then deliver some precise kicks and punches to knock the thugs out: he broke all of the metallic doors' locks and then climbed again into the bike.

"Let's get out."

He ran off the building and quickly entered the warehouse at the right: a "Dimensional Converter" was waiting there.

"Mission: complete." He announced.

"Wroh, hoh, hoh, hoh! It was fun!" Balrog laughed.

The "DC" ignited and Past was warped into the garage room inside of the HQ: he cut the contact and climbed down from the bike to then look at a LED above the door: it was green.

"I'm being expected." He muttered.

He calmly stepped into the LCD screen room and kneeled: it turned on to display the logo.

"Good work, Past. That was the biggest bunch of thugs in Fukushima Province, so… We're making large progress. Keep it up."

"Yes, sir. By yours orders, sir." He calmly replied.

"Ah. One thing… Remember to keep yourself at bay but don't decline any invitations or anything. Dismissed."

"Roger, sir. Goodbye, sir."

08:11 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Eh… Priest – sama? You look somewhat down, sir…"

"Huh? Eh? Ah… That's… I dozed out."

"Aren't you overworking yourself, sir?"

"Maybe…"

Priest was sitting in a black armchair inside of his command room and a holographic screen's glow illuminated him.

He had a hood and veil hid most of his face and he had sunglasses on, too.

He looked slightly over a meter and sixty tall and wore crimson robes with the _Kanji shisai_ (priest) written over the chest.

He also seemed to sport white sneakers and black fingerless gloves:

Annihilator Man's upper body could be seen displayed in the lower right corner of the screen: he looked somewhat concerned.

"Sir. It wouldn't be reasonable to try to stay up so late and wake so early: it will have a toll on your body, sir. I could perfectly take care of such research myself, sir…" Annihilator Man offered.

"… Yeah. You're right, Annihilator Man, but… This is something personal to me: it isn't just fueling Past by having him destroy these thugs who left him marked for life… Thus I feel obliged to help him, too, more than anyone else. Prophetess may "deliver" but since that helps finding out new businesses then it's valid." Priest sighed.

"Ah… I wasn't intending to question your personal motives, sir… I apologize." He bowed.

"Don't mind it: I ain't that strict on protocol or anything… Maybe I should go nap for another while: simply tell any others that business popped out and you'll be relaying my orders." Priest barely repressed a yawn.

"Yes, sir. By your orders, sir."

"… I don't know how far this will come, but… It's too early to tell…"

09:48 AM (Japan Time)…

"… O. K. We're all set."

"Sure. It's been a while since last time."

"Yay! VR! VR!"

Nelaus, Netto and Trill were standing inside of a cubical metallic room about eight meters tall, and eight wide.

A device was set on the ceiling along with a few LED lights which provided the illumination and the only entrance/exit was a set of double armored doors on the south wall: a "Dimensional Area" was taking effect in the room.

Netto and Nelaus were holding their Link PETs with both Rock Man and Isaac inside and their "Synchro Chips": while Nelaus' was the normal Science Labs model, Netto's one included a central brownish dome with an emerald edge and eight straight spokes radiating from it in all eight directions: the purple "V" logo was set on place of the Hikari family crest which had been displaced to the body just before the contacts.

"It's been over a year since we got this new "Synchro Chip". It works splendidly!"

"Yay!" Trill looked excited.

"Go!" Nelaus rallied.

"Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!" Both exclaimed.

"CF" Netto's design was unchanged but he couldn't avoid glancing at his right to see "CF" Nelaus' design.

"CF" Nelaus' helmet kept the blue coloring yet it had gained three square dots on the ear-pads and on the middle of the forehead which were colored golden, crystal and silver from left to right: a black matrix filled the rest of the helmet's surface.

His eyes were unchanged: some short blonde hair came out behind the helmet.

The emblem remained unchanged and so did the armor protecting the base of his neck: yet, on the space below the emblem and before the waist belt (unchanged) the alphabet letters "N" and "S" colored in a platinum color had been drawn: the "N" was on the left and the "S" to the right of the vertical line splitting the body in two.

The shoulder design hadn't changed and the arms' patterns remained the same yet his forearms armor was different: the armor over the wrist was transparent purple in color and the Alphabet "N" letter colored green was set over it: the space over the palm had a black circle which contained a small red dot in the middle surrounded by different scales of red from dull red to crimson red.

The fingers had transparent red rings set on each one which glowed with a dull red glow.

His waist belt design hadn't been altered and his legs' drawings and knee guards were still the same.

His boots had slightly changed because they now had red and black matrixes across their whole surface.

These matrixes included those "eyes" like in the space over the hands and set on both sides of each boot.

"Let's go!"

"Ready… Start!"

The lights dimmed and the device on the ceiling hummed: the environment was surrounded by green and black matrix.

"Bootstrap: started. BIOS check-up… Complete. Initiating VR OS Version 1.5.7…" An automated voice announced.

The surroundings were surrounded by a pale blue halo and changed to cybernetic-like space: circuitry boards could be seen spanning over a large distance to converge in one irregular round shining "portal": the three persons in the VR Room seemed to "fly" towards it and all became an intense white light.

"Heh, heh, heh!"

The three of them appeared inside of what looked like military barracks somewhere: most of the building looked torn down and like it'd been violently attacked: the streets were largely unlit and there was no moon in the sky.

"Wow. Nighttime sneaking mission…" "CF" Netto whispered.

"Sounds cool." "CF" Nelaus grinned.

"Yay!" Trill grinned.

A holographic screen opened and displayed a map of the area: some purple spots were moving either alone or in pairs along some of the streets: there were two black ones and a red one complimented with three blue spots.

"Okay, dudes. I guess the purple spots are the "Darkloids". We're the blue spots. But who are the two black spots and the red spot?" "CF" Netto deduced while frowning.

"Hmmm… Mr. Vadous! Did you add something at the VR at the last moment, maybe?" "CF" Nelaus called out.

"Well…" Vadous trailed off through the radio: he sounded somewhat nervous.

"Guess he did. The point must be to take out the Darkloids without raising alarms and then proceed to the other end of the city where we'll most likely find the goal flag… Let's get moving." "CF" Netto shrugged and didn't seem to mind.

"Heh, heh, heh!" Trill giggled.

The three of them ran off the barracks and made sure to take cover under the unlit spots: they heard sounds coming from a nearby alley and both Darkloid Bright Man and Sword Man came out while discussing.

"I insist! The great I alone can handle this! I don't need a Cerberus-inspired swordsman to stalk me!" Bright Man grumbled.

"Shut up. You're no more than little crap which sparkles." Sword Man's read head drily told him.

"Wha~t?" Bright Man growled.

"Have a problem? Speak it with Shade Man – sama. He is the one who organized the patrols, after all." Sword Man challenged.

"Shade Man – sama ain't involved! End of the tale!" Bright Man yelled to Sword Man.

"Hmpf. Then go ahead and disobey: Shade Man – sama will put a prize on your neck." Sword Man shot back.

"Nya~h! _Check it out_! We'll see 'bout that!" Bright Man growled.

The two of them kept on discussing after they crossed through the street and vanished: the group silently moved forward and soon reached a wide round plaza: most of its surface was covered in a blackish-colored mud-like substance: the Alphabet letter M with two "strokes" drawn over it and colored red was set on the east wall: the highest mud concentration seemed to be around the center of the plaza.

"What the… Bubble Man was here and this is his idea of a strategy to trap intruders?" "CF" Netto muttered.

"Yay! Mud!" Trill giggled.

"I've seen this somewhere before." "CF" Nelaus frowned.

"_Super Mario Sunshine_." Isaac concreted.

"So that's the add-on Mr. Vadous placed… Then… Could those three mysterious spots be…?" Saito muttered.

"_Mamma mia_!"

"Mwah, hah, hah…! Burn!"

"Get 'im, daddy!"

Mario, carrying the "Pump" device from said game attached to him, was running away from Koppa and Koppa Jr.

"Whoa!"

The second carried a brush-like tool and a cloth with a pattern over his chest.

"Sorry. I got inspired…" Vadous sounded shy.

"Don't mind it, Vadous – san. I've always wanted to meet a video game's character in the flesh." "CF" Netto joked.

"Technically, this isn't in the "flesh" since your body is now a simulation inside of the VR Room's system. Your "flesh" per se is still in the real world and affixed there." Saito explained.

"Jeez. I didn't need ya to tell me that, Wikipedia – sama!" "CF" Netto sarcastically replied.

"_Mamma mia_!" Mario uttered.

"Burn, burn and bu~rn!" Koppa laughed.

"Hit 'im, hit 'im!" Koppa Jr. laughed.

"Let's go classical style! Hop!" "CF" Netto laughed.

He jumped over Koppa's head and he suddenly was deleted: "CF" Nelaus did the same for Koppa Jr. and the same result ensued.

"Whoa. It works just like in the _Super Mario Bros. DX _game Omega lent me, even…" "CF" Nelaus whistled in surprise.

"_Mamma mia_!" Mario uttered.

He began to use his Pump to cleanse the mud around the area: once the central mass vanished, a large graphite statue of Shade Man in a victorious pose emerged from beneath the ground while being still covered in large mud stains: Mario then ran off somewhere else while the other three barely held their laughter back.

"Let's g-go on forward… Let's leave this thing as it is… If Bubble Man is included he'll be given the job of making it shine again…" "CF" Netto was barely holding back his laughter.

"Y-yeah… Come, Trill… We're gonna sneak past the bad guys and find the goal." "CF" Nelaus instructed.

"Yay!"

They ran off the square and hid in a nearby abandoned repairs shop: Darkloids Beast Man and Flash Man walked past them and into the square only to gasp.

"What the…!" Beast Man uttered.

"Shade Man – sama's statue…!" Flash Man gasped.

"Oi! Let's make Bubble Man clean up this mess: if Shade Man – sama comes here at morning to proclaim the full victory then he'll have all of the night patrol's members' heads!" Beast Man urged.

"Y-yeah! Let's go!" Flash Man gasped.

They ran southwards while the three of them made their way through some more streets until they spotted another barracks building: they hid between some debris and watched on as Darkloids Desert Man and Video Man walked past them.

"Heh, heh, heh! This apocalyptic sight is what Shade Man – sama enjoys the most. I'm making sure to record plenty of it." He chuckled.

"Ho, ho, ho… Now we Darkloids control 60% of the world. It won't be long until we control the remaining 40%!" Desert Man laughed.

They walked or crawled out of sight while the trio entered the barracks and found a ragged black flag with the word "GOAL" written on it using red letters: they grabbed it and green-colored 3D letters showed up in the midst of the air:

MISSION COMPLETE!

The "portal" showed up and they flew towards it: the group appeared inside of the real-world VR Room while the matrix and the "Dimensional Area" vanished: Netto and Nelaus picked their Link PETs and placed them on place as a new holographic screen showed up in front of them:

VR CUSTOMIZER

MODE: SNEAK

TIME: 04:44

RANK: A

USERS: H. NETTO, N. RAINON, ROCK MAN, ISAAC, TRILL

HAVE A NICE DAY!

"… Not bad." Netto commented.

"Heh. It was original." Nelaus grinned.

"Yay!" Trill exclaimed.

"Those improvisations add some fun to the picture." Saito grinned.

"Yeah. It was fun meetin' the Super Trio." Isaac joked.

"I'm glad you guys actually liked it… I thought you'd told me I'm too much of a gamer, even…" Vadous admitted through a speaker.

"Please think for some more of them by the next time we come: it'll add a new level of thrill to it!"

"Sure. I'm always looking to make my little ideas come real."

"We'll drop by Trill and Iris' room before returning. Good morning."

"Ah. And don't trust any rumors about diets: they're faker than any Picasso copy." Vadous warned with a hint of amusement.

"I guess Dekao will be trying them out in vain but will find out they're just talk." Netto grinned.

"Boo~…"

"Sigma. Don't mess with the speakers."

"Sigma!"

"Yikes! Commander Omega!"

"Sigma… Always messing it up. We told you about the mess he made by trying to upload _Tzar: The Burden of the Crown_ into the system a year ago, right, guys?" Netto sighed.

"Yeah. You got trapped into the sprites because he made a mistake when uploading the software and had to fight to the end to get out."

"He spent several days switched off in the capsule and that was enough of a lesson or so we think."

"Oh non-fortunate traveler of sin and crime. Thou path shall lead thou to the Halls of Sun Tzu where eternal struggle awaits." Dragon Hell calmly quoted in English.

"Jeez. There goes Dragon – san again."

"By the way, Netto – kun… Let's not forget to arrange for Tooru – kun to come over so that we can play some Wii games."

"Sure."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Smash Man will visit Nam Hsams!"

"Not with the "mirroring curse" again…" Nelaus groaned.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Shadow Man will visit Nam Repus!"

"Sigma!"

"Yikes! Commander Omega, sir…!"

"Shut the trap up NOW."

"R-roger."

"Huff." Blood Shadow fumed.

"…endless struggle and battling which bring about collapse of the Natural Balance Spirits and such…"

"DRAGON HELL! ANGER GOD'S COMING!" Vadous roared over the speakers.

"Huff. Dragon – san and the others… The city goes mad in the summer!"


	12. Chapter 12: Bomber's Plot

**Chapter 12: Bomber's Plot**

12:55 PM (Japan Time), Monday June the 20th…

"… Wow. What a view! It's my first time visiting Tokyo… It sure is a large metropolis!"

"Yeah. It's my first time as well… What luck that your father was holding a show here today's afternoon and we were allowed some time to go sightseeing, eh?"

Arushi and Eboshi were standing in the view deck of Tokyo Tower and watching the landscape through those payment binoculars: Eboshi looked taken in while Arushi grinned.

Eboshi sported blue plastic boots, gray shorts, a yellow shirt, a small green tie and suspenders today.

Arushi wore a red open sleeveless vest, a white t-shirt with suns drawn on it and jeans along with white sneakers.

"I'm going to check the north view. Are you coming, Arushi – kun?" Eboshi announced.

"I'll go to the restroom for a moment and I'll catch up with you."

He headed to the restroom and took out his Link PET.

"Balrog. Are you in there?" He called out.

"Yeah… I thought there'd be some excitement around here… By the way, Past… Witch contacted me: there's more stuff at Itabashi City… We should take care of it." Balrog whispered.

"Fine. Just stay silent and remember to cover your trails around the area by using back routes." Arushi whispered back.

"Roger, _Aibou_!"

Arushi pocketed the PET and used the toilet before exiting the restroom and heading out into the hall.

"Phew."

A small explosion suddenly rang out and everyone gasped: they looked around and murmurs began to fill the area: Arushi headed over to the elevators and found one which was open and partly stuck between this floor and the superior one: only a narrow gap was left in this floor.

"Crap." He muttered.

"Help!" A voice called out inside of the elevator.

Arushi gasped and spotted a small girl about six years old crawling into a corner while hugging a teddy bear.

"Arushi – kun! What's going on?" Eboshi caught up.

"Eboshi – kun. Perfect. You're thinner than me, so… You might fill into that gap: try to get that girl out." Arushi told him.

"Eh… O. K." Eboshi replied.

Arushi lifted him and Eboshi crawled inside.

"Don't be afraid. We're going out." He told the girl.

"R-really…?"

"Really. Please come over here." Eboshi told her.

She slowly walked over and Arushi picked her to take her out of the elevator to then leave her on the ground.

"Come out, Eboshi – kun." Arushi told him.

"Roger."

There was a sudden explosion and the elevator box began to slide down the shaft: Arushi slid across the ground and managed to get it as the elevator fell: the emergency brakes kicked in and it got halted a few meters down.

"That was no accident! It was deliberate!" Arushi gasped.

"But who could be doing this?" Eboshi wondered.

"Dunno…"

"What can we do?"

"Give me a lift: I wanna open the emergency ceiling trapdoor. I could call out to the floor above us and have they come rescue us by bringing ropes down from there." Arushi instructed.

"Roger."

Eboshi lifted Arushi: he opened the trapdoor and came out into the elevator's roof: he suddenly spotted a large bomb-like device placed on the south-east corner which was partly open.

"Eboshi – kun! Don't move from there." Arushi warned.

"What's going on, Arushi – kun?" Eboshi asked.

"A bomb."

"A bomb, you say!"

Arushi inspected a square LCD screen in which red digits were being displayed:

01:15:44

"One hour fifteen minutes… Huh? This vial with liquid… Ain't this mercury? It's inclined and some kind of ball is set on the center… Damn. I see. One slight shake and we're all gone along with the tower! This is the work of a pro." He cursed.

"So we can't move?" Eboshi gasped.

"O~i~! Boys! Are you alright?" A voice called out.

"Police…?" Arushi called back.

"Correct! What's going on over there?"

"There's a bomb, sir! And we can't move: it has a mercury lever. It has a listening device, too, so… If we come out the culprit will activate it nevertheless. If you could lower some tools to defuse the bomb then we may be able to sort this out, sir! It's the only remaining option to avoid manslaughter!" Arushi detailed.

"Damn. The mercury lever bomber again…! He's been giving headache after headache ever since 9 months ago! Anyway… We'll call out the specialists and lower the equipment! There should be enough time to handle this…" The police officer cursed.

"Roger."

Arushi slowly sat on his knees and waited: his Link PET beeped and he took it out.

"Mail… From: Bomber… Great. How did the guy know my email address, anyway? Oh. How silly of me. He's been listening the whole time. Let's see… "Gnat! If ya have guts, try to disable the great me's masterpiece. Whatever ya do is useless. Ya will soon realize why. Bomber." … The "I'm a genius" type, huh…" He grumbled.

"So it'd seem…" Eboshi muttered.

"Oi! Boy! We're lowering the bag: catch it with your hands and slowly deposit it on the ground: it includes the bomb's schematics, too, plus a walkie-talkie. Follow all instructions." The officer called out.

"Roger, sir!"

A large duffel bag was lowered and Arushi calmly picked it up: he set it on the ground and took out the schematics while checking out the stuff inside of it.

"Eboshi – kun! Have the schematics." He called out.

He threw them inside with the walkie-talkie: Eboshi unfolded them to study them while holding the walkie-talkie on the right hand.

"Listen: we're going to put out the lights in the shaft to disable the photosensitive trigger so put on the IR scope. Once they're out remove the cover at the right of the mercury lever while making sure not to brush against it." The officer instructed.

"Roger, sir."

Arushi set it as the lights were put out: he slowly assumed a lying position.

"Go." He muttered.

He placed himself parallel to the bomb and unscrewed the cover to spot the photosensitive trigger: he cut its wire and then sighed as he removed his IR scope to use his PET's flashlight.

"Okay. One down."

"Phew." Eboshi muttered.

"Lift the LCD screen and check what's beneath it: you should short-circuit the middlemost wire of the set of three." The officer instructed.

"Roger, sir."

Arushi did so and checked the volt-measuring device: the needle indicated a slight increase in electricity.

"Crap. This thing was still taking power… Close, too close…" He grimly muttered.

"Put a plastic stopper next." The officer instructed.

Arushi placed it but suddenly frowned.

_Wait. The bomber claimed that whatever I did was in vain… I can't stop him, he means? I don't see the point of it: the police have been dismantling all these bombs and this isn't any different. _

He shrugged and cut the next wire before stopping to think back.

_This bomb can't be Plugged-In since it has no port to do that. And data can't travel over electrical lines… Huh?_

A message appeared onscreen:

"Whoever has the guts to try to stop me, I'll tell you this: I set up a second bomb which is gonna go off today at 18:00 PM somewhere in this ridiculously large city. The hint will show up 3 seconds before the explosion. See you in Hell!"

_So that's what he meant… And I'm sure anyone else would be doomed because there'd be no other way but to mail the hint…_ _But…_

He took out his Link PET and inputted some commands into the screen: Balrog nodded in understanding left the screen.

_He's going to locate the origin of my email: the guy must be totally confident that we won't make it out alive so he mustn't have bothered to conceal his origin… We catch the guy while I finish disabling this machine and force him to confess the location of the second bomb…_

"… Okay! Next is the yellow wire to cut off the power to the LCD display which has to be cut!" The officer instructed.

"Roger, sir."

_He'll think we'll rather save our skins instead of being martyrs and save his victims from the second bomb._

"Sir! We have located the bomber amongst the street crowd: we're giving chase!" One policeman reported.

"Oh! If we could disable his PET then he'd be rendered useless!" The officer gasped.

_Heh, heh. Leave it to Balrog! He's an expert at sabotaging PETs from the inside by forcing them to undergo factory setting restoration and deleting their flash memories!_

"The white cord from the mercury lever: next!"

"O. K.!"

Arushi cut it up and began to form a broad grin.

_Balrog's gotta be playing _Mitternacht_ on that guy's PET to signal his doom: they'll quickly think the one who did it is a German 'cause there'll be no evidence of his involvement left._

"Last: the black cord to the remote detonator and cell phone! With that the bomb will be completely defused!" The office concluded.

"Done!"

"We did it!" Eboshi sighed in relief.

"Sir! We have caught the culprit yet all data from his PET is gone… It'd seem it'll be hard to make him confess." Someone reported.

"Finally! Anyway… Lower some ropes to bring those two boys out and then send someone to recover the dismantled bomb." The officer sounded relieved.

"By the way… Regarding the 2nd bomb… I'm pretty sure I know where he's placed it at." Arushi called out.

"You do?" The officer asked.

"Minato City's Concert Hall… There's going to be a magic show at 17:30 PM and it'll surely be full of people by 18:00 PM…" Arushi announced.

"Dad's magic show…!" Eboshi gasped in horror.

"Calm down. The police can send a team to evacuate the building and disable the bomb." Arushi relieved him.

"Thank goodness…!" Eboshi sighed in relief.

"Come: I'll help you climb." Arushi called out.

He lowered himself on the floor and extended his arms into inside of the elevator: Eboshi gripped them and he then slowly lifted him until both were on the roof: they then picked the ends of two ropes which had been lowered and they were pulled up by some policemen waiting in the main observation deck.

"Good work!" They told them.

"Ah… But Arushi – kun deserves the credit, sir! I was only checking up each step…" Eboshi blushed.

"It was like in a movie." Arushi shrugged.

"Send a team to the Concert Hall on the double: the bomb is surely inactive as of yet. And we know that bomber works alone, anyway, so there's no risk." The officer commanded.

Arushi and Eboshi sighed in relief: the worse was over.

13: 48 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Really… You two saved Tokyo Tower!"

"Please, dad…! It was Arushi – kun…!"

"I'm being praised, sir."

"Is that so?"

Arushi and Eboshi were having a lunch in a cafeteria along with a man.

This man looked on his late thirties and forties and had brown hair, beard and a slight moustache.

He wore a purple sleeveless shirt which had the four Trump signs (club, diamond, heart and spade) drawn on each side: the diamond was set on the upper right corner and the heart was beneath it: the spade was set opposite the diamond with the club set beneath it as well plus a second yellow shirt beneath the first one and a pair purple pants with two rows of diamond figures on the end of them along with

He sported white gloves and brown shoes.

A purple hat had been left on the desk.

"Mr. Hat… I just did what I was told, sir. It's not like I came here to save the city, sir." Arushi chuckled.

"Come on, Arushi – kun. You're being too modest." Mr. Hat smiled.

"See, dad! I told you!" Eboshi insisted.

"Well! I'm glad you both worked together. Remember: you two have first-row seats, so… You know the drill."

"We drill 'till the tunnel is complete." Arushi joked.

"Whoa. It rhymes." Eboshi whistled in surprise.

_Phew. We saved the day. Anyway… I'm sure the other guys will be heating the air up… Heh, heh, heh! Nelaus – kun… I'll be looking forward to our next rematch! Come at full power!_

14:06 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Wow. Eboshi – kun and Arushi – kun managed to stop Tokyo Tower from being destroyed while figuring out the location of a second bomb elsewhere…"

"Incredible!"

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! The Super God is smilin' on 'em!"

"Very original, Sigma."

The twins were seeing a TV news report about what had happened: both looked surprised while Sigma came with a joke met with total dryness from Blood Shadow.

"This is serious." Blood Shadow grumbled.

"Yeah. As serious as that recycled TIE orbiting around yer head, ya mean to say?" Sigma joked.

"It ain't the time for originalities, Sigma."

"Scary, scary… Blood – chan is getting another of his dry moods 'cause he didn't drink enough water."

"Hmpf."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Hit a spot…" Sigma teased.

"Sigma… Please leave him alone." Netto sighed.

"Blood doesn't deserve this." Saito sighed as well.

"He deserves a date with Roll. Mwah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h!"

"Jeez. You seriously need a battle to turn serious."

"Our little red-colored hunter will hunt a fox?"

"By all the… I give up."

"No wonder." The twins muttered.

Sigma laughed while the other three sighed in defeat…

15:15 PM (Melbourne Time)…

"… So those two disabled the bomb? Surprising, Master."

"Yeah. But I'm surprised they caught the bomber so fast… There's gotta be some trick involved."

"Maybe someone traced back the mail one of them got?"

"Could be, yeah… Too bad I didn't think of sending any of the guys there to check it out…"

Philip and Twilight were chatting while looking at a CNN broadcast in the laptop's screen regarding the earlier incident.

"OH YEAH! LET ZA BOMBER HIT ZA MAN!"

"Huff." Philip sighed.

"CLOUD MAN!"

"Yikes! T-Twilight – sama, sir…!"

"Out." He hissed.

"He ran." Zoan Gate Man drily reported.

"By the way, what'll happen with the business that "Past" guy stormed the other day? Did they know something important?"

"No. I wasn't involved with that."

"Good. And don't worry, Master. Nobody suspects me because I keep on playing the meek guy."

"Good, good. Keep it up: this way they won't figure out your ID so easily and as long as they don't find your name then there's no trouble."

"I knew that. And soon I'll go pay a visit to my rival."

"I approve. Remind them who they're dealing with. Tease them."

"Sure. My knives are eager to get a taste of that guy's blood, anyway."

"Heh, heh, heh, heh… Nelaus… You better get ready… Heh, heh, heh…"


	13. Chapter 13: Other parties

09:48 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hello."

"Oh. You're…"

Omega was sitting on the public benches of the Internet City Stadium when a Navi approached him from the right

"Ah! Colonel: Barrel Tai-sa's Net Navi… Military Net Navi of the Ameroupe Army… A visitor from the _past_… It's been a while. What's up?" Omega greeted in a whisper.

"I've been monitoring Rama. I just found out that the Navi known as Axe Man was in Frankfurt until a little while ago…" Colonel announced.

"Axe Man in Frankfurt…? I'm sure they did something over there: I don't see as the types to go somewhere in vain… And it's not even 03:00 AM in there…"

"I'm sure they're linked to the flash news circulating the area about Viruses hitting a bank… The European Central Bank, it was named, if I'm not mistaken…"

"No way! The ECB has the highest in security… Its levels of security make our own HQ's security look down-grade in comparison! Any Viruses would be annihilated before making it inside of the outer rim, even!" Omega stood up and sounded dumbfounded.

"I'm not sure how they did it, but… I'm sure they'll skillfully diver the blame to someone else." Colonel sighed.

"Yeah. That Present guy looks like he's cut for that kind of jobs: he must be the one with most coolness and calmness."

"So it'd seem… By the way… I've noticed Destruction Man investigating the alumni list of a school… Akihara Middle School… He seemed to have an interest in Class 3-A…" He added.

"The twins' class! And if he was searching for Octopus – han, then… He must've overheard rumors about them knowing something…"

"…"Twins"…? Oh. Rock Man's Operator has a brother, then?" Colonel looked intrigued.

"Yeah. But he didn't get any of the fame 'cause he was hospitalized back then and it's not like he minds it." Omega quickly replied.

"Hum. I know even the Pentagon was interested in locating that man from a while ago…"

"Even the Pentagon… Luckily we know how to keep the guy out of the radar." Omega muttered.

"So he works for you guys?"

"Yeah. We approached him: he's a white hat to begin with. He acts like an info-stealer because that's the way people know him as. But, for safety reasons, I won't say more." Omega admitted.

"I'll be going back. How could I approach you?"

"Eh… Come to the abandoned lighthouse's Cyber World. You'll find the means there." Omega whispered.

"Roger. Well then… Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Colonel turned around and headed downstairs towards the exit while Omega fumed and grumbled something under his breath.

_Great. Now they can rob even the ECB? These guys… And I'm sure Axe Man won't give up on beheading Rock Man. Jeez._

"… Needle Cannon!"

"Uo~h!"

"And the victory goes for Needle Man!"

"Shah, shah, sha~h! What. Too easy~… I didn't even sweat! The guys here are too bland and fragile~! I wanna face a veteran fellow one day~! Shah!"

"Well. There goes our contestant's fifth consecutive victory!"

10:02 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Good work, Present and Axe Man. You carried out the strategy in a flawless manner."

"I thank your compliments, Priest – sama."

"We completed the mission."

Present was kneeling in front of the LCD screen along with Axe Man's hologram: Priest sounded amused while the other two were calm.

"You deserve a rest. But remember… Until I order you two, don't target anyone. Do you understand?" Priest commanded.

"Yes, sir. By your orders, sir."

"Roger, sir."

"Good. Go." Priest commanded.

Present stood up and saluted before heading to the garage just as Future came in and parked his bike there.

"Yo. Present. It'd seem you've triggered some cool headlines today! I'm going to report 'cause I've made some progress trackin' my buddy the octopus-lovin' guy." Future told him.

"Good. Later." Present calmly replied.

"Show those fools how it's done, _Danna_." Destruction Man told Axe Man with a grin.

"Hmpf. Obviously." Axe Man looked amused.

Present climbed into the bike and ran off while Future headed into the LCD screen room and kneeled.

"Report, Future." Priest commanded.

"Yes, sir. I've seized a link to Octopus – han… But it'd seem the guy is kept off the radar by the "Committee" and does jobs for them: he's under permanent employ by 'em, sir." He reported.

"I see. And the "Committee" is smart enough to know when it's a trap or not… No wonder the Pentagon officer in charge of investigating him was unable to draw him into stupidly striking Ameroupe Army facilities… They saw it coming." Priest sounded intrigued.

"Yes, sir… I've been researchin' into the alumni of Akihara Middle School Class 3-A… Past said a trustable person he knew had overheard three students talkin' 'bout the guy, so it was pretty probable that they knew some details… I've identified 'em but approachin' 'em is no easy job 'cause the three of them are Net Saviors…"

"The Hikari twins and Rainon, you mean?" Priest gasped.

"Yes, sir. There's no mistakin' it, sir."

"Hum… I see. Maybe I'll think of something… For the time being… Don't try to come close to those persons: the "Committee" is very wary of security. They'd spot you half a kilometer from there. No. Go back to Oosaka and make them believe you're still searching there. It will make them lower their guard slightly. Stay there until new orders come in. Do you understand?"

"Roger, sir."

"We understand, sir." Destruction Man added.

"Good. Go ahead." Priest told them.

Future also saluted before returning to the garage as Prophetess came in, too.

"Hiya~! Wanna come to the disco, Future – chan? We'll have some thrill, too!" She teased.

"Nope. I've got job to do. Later, Prophetess." He drily replied.

Future ran off with his bike while she shrugged and cut the bike's engine off before climbing down.

"Whatever… I'll find another thrill." She muttered.

She giggled under her breath…

19:36 PM (Utah Time), Monday June the 20th…

"… Hmmm… That Net Navi keeps on crossing through the "Past Tunnel" I created upon landfall… Yet… My orders forbid me from stopping him or interfering with the affairs of humanity. I am but to monitor. And such is my mission."

A Net Navi was floating inside of what looked like outer space: four holographic screens filled with green glyph-like characters were deployed around him.

He looked around a meter and eighty tall and his eyes' irises were purple in color.

His body had two folded triangular bronze-colored wings attached to it from behind and their surface had circuitry patterns drawn over them.

The main body didn't seem to have any emblems: it also was colored in a bronze color.

A drawing which looked like a representation of a planet was set on his forehead.

"Being the emissary of my makers, I, Xon' Edos, am… I exist to catalog the extent of the Network technology developed by this planet. It would seem its many facets bear some resemblance to past eras of our own world and Creators." He muttered.

He brought up some imagery of Annihilator Man's attack on the Science Labs and seemed to be studying it.

"Intriguing. Control over "annihilation" and of both matter and antimatter… This will intrigue my Masters. We have long sought such a system and it will ironically result that a civilization which is still far from our technological level has been able to design such a prototype system!"

He then brought up imagery of Rock Man battling Axe Man.

"My. And that Navi believes he is "cultured"? Do not make me laugh: he is but a barbarian. Rock Man – dono proved it to him… Size does not matter: true power can defeat anything! Heh, heh, heh!"

11:31 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Nelaus Rainon. The Court of Owls has sentenced you to… battle."

"Hmpf. I was waiting for you, Darth Bapgei, Talon or whatever name you feel like using."

"I guess he's going to remain silent this time around too."

Nelaus had been sitting on a bench in the public gardens and reading a novel when the "Talon" showed up in front of him while remaining quiet and with both arms parallel to the body while having drawn five small knives which he held out in each hand making a total of ten.

"Let's go, then."

Nelaus left the novel on the bench and quickly got into a defensive pose as the opponent silently spun around their axis clockwise and threw the knives at him: they were repelled by something, their blades got bent and they hit the ground: the "Talon" merely glanced at those but wasn't too surprised: he calmly drew both blades and began to circle anti-clockwise around Nelaus.

"Well, well. Still some fight in you… And look at you. Heh… Beating your wings, gnashing your little fangs. Do you know what owls do to prey that…?" He amusedly taunted.

"I know… That I'm sick… to _death_… of OWLS!"

Nelaus suddenly ducked and rammed into the guy from the SE flank and caught them with the guard lowered: he made them crash against a street-light but they recovered and quickly shot a wire with a magnetic hook at its end which attached to the body of the pole: he reeled it in and clutched the decoration bars to use them to swing and drop to the ground towards Nelaus: he hit a "barrier" of some sort and shattered it before quickly picking all knives and making them land in various spots on the flanks of Nelaus' torso: he didn't mind them and picked one of the short blades to start clashing with the guy.

"You've got some short memory, right? I can't bleed to death. Why?"

"Nanomachines. Same for me. Like Vamp." He taunted back.

"Hmpf."

"Hit a vibe, my rival?"

"So you're going to chat this time around?"

"Like Krauser."

"I dunno who Krauser is."

"Ask Omega."

"Maybe I'll do."

"Ask Ace Attorney, then."

"Why would I need to talk to an attorney?"

"He might tell you what Harvey Dent is going to do."

"Two-Face? Come on. Stop making up weird cocktails which gotta be worse than Dragon's curry chocolate."

"C-curry chocolate~?" He was surprised.

"Huff. Yeah, yeah. Like he said. That's one reason I'm glad I don't need to eat." Isaac sighed.

"No wonder." Twilight's voice muttered over the enemy's radio.

"So. Ex – _senpai_. Whaddya think of the ECB hit?"

"I approve of it. They did a good homework, had patience and exploited a _cliché_ along the way… Stirring terror and chaos… And also proving that there's no 100% safe system… Heh, heh, heh. But my Darkloids could've gotten in by pretending to be control signals from some inside PC and escape through a PC too…" He chuckled.

"I see."

"Darth Bapgei. Tell them."

"Roger. Nelaus Rainon… I am your brother!"

"That's a parody of the "I am your father" motto in _Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back_…"

"You know what? I feel like the whole deal with that Shirakami kid 4 years ago could've been named "Shirakami Strikes Back" too." He laughed.

"How dry."

"Dry? You mean original, my Demon Tribe fellow!"

"Jeez."

The "Talon" suddenly swung his blade to make a cut on Nelaus' hand from above but it quickly healed before it could bleed too much: Nelaus calmly plunged his blade into the right hip but got stuck half-way through because the clothes seemed to be thicker than expected.

"Hmpf. You're also using a materialized "Dream Aura" set in a spectrum which is below or above visible light."

"Correct, _Kyoudai_."

"So you've learnt that word from Twilight, huh? You're really a foreigner or pretend to be a foreigner? So you're from Gotham City?"

"Who knows? Maybe Lincoln March knows."

"I dunno who that is and I suspect he doesn't exist yet."

"Catching up? Welcome to the Quick To Catch Up Club leaded by the Honorable Excellent Professor Robert Langdon of Harvard College."

"Jeez. I know who Robert Langdon is, yeah. I've read _Angels & Demons _and the _Da Vinci Code_… I use the breaks in the institute as time to read those…" He rolled his eyes.

"What narrow-minded fellows." Isaac calmly muttered.

"Hah, hah, hah, hah… Narrow-minded, you say~? Not bad."

"Laugh all ya want, Twilight." Isaac shot back.

"Laughter Man makes me laugh without control! The Berserk Laughter!"

"Berserk Laughrer… How lame."

"Blame Mr. Author."

"Dan Brown?"

"No, no. THE Mr. Author."

"Huff. Go tuna and codfish and eel and mackerel."

"Not bad. The T-C-E-M mix-up?"

"Jeez." Nelaus rolled his eyes.

They continued cutting each other with the blades but got nowhere because when one cut the other their wounds were immediately healed by their nanomachines: Nelaus ducked and rammed into the guy to make them fall into the ground and then quickly cut the robe around the head in half: the "Talon" gasped and quickly improvised a bandana which he tied over the nose to held them together.

"No. You can't see yet. You don't have the qualifications."

"Oh? Why? You've got some physical anomaly in your face or are you of a different tribe? No offense there."

"Hmpf. Think whatever you want. Eat these."

They plunged the blade into Nelaus' right arm above the elbow and below the shoulder: Nelaus hissed and plunged his into the extended right arm from below close to the wrist.

"You dare…!"

"Oh, I do."

"Enough! Darth Bapgei. Pull back. Have some juicy soy pancake nightmares, my fellow Demon Tribe member."

"Jeez. Enough with Dragon's weird recipes."

"Leave us alone already."

The "Talon" got warped while Nelaus simply looked on with a shrug.

"Heh, heh, heh. How many more teasers will you bear with?"

"As many as necessary."

"Good answer, fellow."

"Go listen to U2's newest worldwide tour if they drop by Melbourne anytime soon which I dunno." Nelaus challenged.

"Heh, heh, heh. Let the U hit the 2!"

"Very funny." Isaac drily grumbled.

"Isn't it?" Twilight joked back.

Nelaus picked his novel and resumed reading like nothing had happened to begin with: he then spotted a hologram of a gigantic white marble statue of an owl set in the center of the playground.

"Hmpf. Stop spoiling me."

"Heh, heh, heh. I want to taste the bitterness of your anger!"

"Save the drama speech for your own Photoshop – edited series."

"Good idea. I should try to edit some series and make up The Ultimate Series Collage By Twilight – sama~!"

"Huff. Not with Shadow Man's capital mania…" Isaac rolled his eyes.

"OH YEAH! LET ZA SHADOW HIT ZA LIGHT!"

"Not bad. I'll allow for that one because I'm in a good mood."

"Huff. I'm off to my room: I can't stand Cloud Man's silliness."

"So your precious "Talon" has a limit to how much stupidity he can listen to in a short while before he feels overwhelmed, eh?" Nelaus sneered.

"Hah! We found a weakness." Isaac grinned.

"If you think so then… Next time things will be VERY different… Heh, heh!"

The statue hologram vanished while Nelaus shrugged and formed a grin along with Isaac…


	14. Chapter 14: Second Strike

**Chapter 14: Second Strike**

07:06 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday June the 22nd…

"… Early again! You're becomin' an early bird."

"It's bad to get used to sleep too much."

"I knew that."

Future was standing in the balcony of his apartment which seemed to be on the 4th floor of an apartment block tower: the ocean could be seen a few kilometers from there.

He sported a green emerald summer pajama, black socks and slippers.

His Link PET had been left on top of a nearby desk and Destruction Man's hologram was floating next to Future.

"Well… Oosaka's a nice place, yeah… This breeze is what I like the most: it brings forth the smell of the ocean… Heh, heh, heh… And I'm sure we'll end up findin' somethin' 'bout Octopus – han sooner or later…" He muttered with a hint of amusement.

"Yeah! That's Angou Saizou for ya!" Destruction Man laughed.

The entrance bell suddenly rang and Angou frowned.

"I wasn't expectin' anyone so early… Maybe it's someone from the high school who's got a hangover or wants a loan…" He frowned.

He walked over to the entrance door and looked out through the peep hole: Prophetess was standing in the hall.

"What the… Prophetess? What is the gal doin' 'ere? I never told anyone my address!" He gasped.

"Dunno…" Destruction Man muttered.

Angou opened the door but left the security chain in place: Prophetess blew a provoking kiss at him.

"Hiya~! Found ya~!" She giggled.

"What's the meanin' of this?" He asked.

"Don't be so hostile!" Witch grinned.

"Wait a min… Ya followed me!" Destruction Man realized.

"Oh… Catching up?"

"If Priest – sama knows 'bout this…" Angou grumbled.

"… He'll be amused." Prophetess finished.

"Sod off and go have a thrill with a 6th grader!"

"My, my, my... Why not? But just that ya know… Emerald-eyed _handsome_ guys are in high demand nowadays… Be careful, _cutie~_. _No pain_, _no gain_! _Bye-bye_! Tee, heh, heh!" Prophetess giggled.

"Destroy 'em all!" Witch teased.

"Yeah, yeah…" Destruction Man dully replied.

Prophetess ran down the stairs while Angou shut the door and locked it up with his key.

"Man. Now Prophetess is a stalker, too. What a lovely morning! She'll be teasin' me nonstop." Angou grumbled.

"Guess so…" Destruction Man muttered.

"Anyway… I better get all ready in case they ring me up for a job… Ya take care of security and make sure _no-one_ can get in sans my explicit permission."

"Roger…"

Destruction Man's hologram vanished while Angou unfroze a bar of bread to prepare a sandwich along with a glass of water: he then looked out at the landscape and sighed.

"One day I'll be a pro bike mechanic. And, in the meanwhile, I can show my skills thanks to Rama. This'll get interestin'! Maybe I'll go after that Laika guy next. Heh, heh, heh!" He grinned.

07:58 AM (Japan Time)…

"… O. K. So this is the place."

"I guess the guy is an early bird!"

Nelaus was standing in front of a warehouse-like building: it looked slightly worn out and rusted with some of the windows being broken or damaged to a certain degree: both he and Isaac looked calm.

"Let's go in, then." Nelaus smiled.

He stepped inside and found Past leaning against a column while a Duel Stage had been set on the ground: Balrog was inside of it and looking ready for a fight.

"So! The envoys of Gondor came out to challenge Sauron – dono! Ya must want to go straight to the bottom of the ocean as a corpse! Wroh, hoh, hoh, ho~h!" Balrog laughed.

"Yeah. That's gotta be it." Past sounded amused.

"So. Past. You want a rematch." Nelaus smiled.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get this show in the road! Showdown! Go for it!" Isaac grinned.

"Plug In! Isaac, Transmission!"

Isaac entered the arena while Balrog made a step forward: the ground shook once he placed his right foot on the ground as if trying to impose an intimidating aura: his body's flames became incandescent red while the atmosphere seemed to heat up all of a sudden.

"Whoa. This guy got an upgrade!" Isaac whistled in surprise.

"You will become mere cinders!" Balrog proclaimed.

"Battle Chip, Geyser! Slot In!"

"Geyser!"

"Futile!"

The Geyser hit Balrog but it barely managed to make his flames die down at all: he laughed and suddenly levitated some centimeters above the ground before shooting forward: Isaac jumped to the right and rolled across the ground to dodge it.

"Whoa! Fast!" Isaac gasped.

"This is nothing!" Past exclaimed.

"Uh-oh." Nelaus muttered.

"I'm going to reduce to bones which will pile up in the foothills of Minas Morgul as an offering to the Witch-King of Angmar! Heat Quake! Mwoh, hoh, hoh, hoh, ho~h!" Balrog laughed.

Balrog shot skywards only to fall down and hit the ground with force causing a radial flame shockwave to expand around the area: Isaac jumped into the air and made a grimace.

"Battle Chip, Ice Cannon Ball! Slot In!"

"Ice Cannon Ball!"

"Same trick won't work twice!" Balrog laughed.

"I wonder about that." Nelaus grinned.

The Ice Cannon Ball hit Balrog and caused for white fog to expand from the point of impact: there was the hum of a Drill Arm and Balrog roared something for some seconds before turning around and starting to swing his tail around.

"Death Wrecking Ball!"

He spun the Death Wrecking Ball and threw it towards the south-east: he hit something but Isaac apparently attacked from elsewhere.

"I can't see anything! Battle Chip, Suikomi! Slot In!" Past cursed.

The fan removed the fog to reveal Isaac having two Drill Arms equipped and Balrog trying to hit him: some cracks had formed on his back near the wings to evidence where Isaac had hit him.

"Damn. You used the fog as a cover along with a _kawarimi_." Past cursed aloud.

"Yeah. I'm crafty."

"And you drained 220 HP out of 1400… But that's nothing! Balrog's terror is just starting." Past announced.

"Come!" Isaac challenged.

"Hroa~h! Death Wrecking Ball!"

Balrog threw it towards Isaac: he suddenly jumped over it as it plunged into the ground and got stuck tensing the chain: Isaac ran up across its surface and then plunged both Drill Arms into the upper section of the head's armor: Balrog roared and he was surrounded by incandescent flames: but Isaac had already jumped away to a safe distance.

"Crap. Too much armor and mass has slowed Balrog down by 18%! And Isaac is taking profit of it to strike before Balrog can retaliate!" Past cursed aloud.

"Maybe Han Solo's tricks had an effect on you, Feet?" Nelaus taunted with a grin.

"Grjtfx!" Past grumbled.

"I'll take that as a "yeah"." Nelaus lifted his eyebrows.

"Gruo~h! Hell's Tornado!" Balrog exclaimed.

A large tornado made up of incandescent flames formed around him and began to suck everything around him inside: Isaac lifted his eyebrows and looked amused.

"Battle Chip, Heat Body! Slot In!"

Isaac crouched and suddenly began to spin while flames built up around him: he shot inside of the tornado and impacted Balrog on the chest thus pushing him backwards although his tornado didn't slow down: Isaac jumped out of the tornado while Balrog tossed the Death Wrecking Ball at him: Isaac jumped out of the way.

"Damn. 480 HP drained…! It's gone over one third… But there's still ample margin before deciding if I use my tool or not."

"Guo~h, hoh, hoh, hoh! Yeah! I missed some thrill… Behold my new _Special Ability_! Hell Soldiers!" Balrog laughed.

His body began to emit a reddish glow: several copies of him formed and they quickly spun around while switching places: Isaac was unable to keep track of the real one and he was surrounded by eight of them.

"Balrog Breath!"

"Area…!"

"Too slow!"

Balrog's attack hit Isaac before Nelaus was able to complete the Area Steal's Slot In: Isaac grumbled something and then jumped towards one of the enemies only to pass through it: the other seven chased him.

"Damn. They took out 240 HP. We need to counter, Nelaus!" Isaac growled with obvious annoyance.

"Yeah! Battle Chip, Cannon Ball! Slot In!"

"Take that!"

Isaac threw it at one of the enemies and it hit his head, making an echo-like sound ring out inside of his armor and dizzying him: the other copies vanished.

"Here I go~!" Isaac grinned.

"Battle Chip, Golden Fist! Slot In!"

Isaac jumped into Balrog and hit his head with the Golden Fist repeated times thus further confusing him as well as delivering some kicks to his upper chest: Balrog recovered and grabbed Isaac before shooting skywards, turning around, and tossing Isaac towards the ground: he'd already brought out a Tank Cannon Battle Chip.

"Tank Cannon!"

The blast propelled Isaac towards the ground while Balrog was pushed back by it: Isaac calmly flipped and gallantly landed on the ground: however, Balrog had already recovered and he fell down surrounded by flames as if he was a meteor: he hit the ground and caused an explosion which pushed Isaac back before he recovered.

"Huff… Huff… 810 HP of damage insofar… Two thirds… But this is the kind of battle I wanted!" Balrog laughed.

"And I've lost 390 HP myself… Guess I can't complain." Isaac muttered.

"Hmmm… If it goes over 1200 then I'll use the tool." Past decided.

"Program Advance! Hi Cannon, Triple Slot in!"

"Giga Cannon!"

Isaac shot the Giga Cannon at Balrog's chest and the blow pushed him back before he recovered and shot forward while leaving a trail of flames behind: his left claw's fingers grew larger and he "cut" the air opening some kind of gateway and making four red-colored Spark Bees come out and attack Isaac.

"Gah! That guy's armor can reduce my attack's power by half, so he got 250 HP from the Giga Cannon and has lost 1060 HP… But this attack drained me another 120 HP: I've lost 510." Isaac cursed.

"And if he uses the Annihilator Chip, then… I guess the new Battle Chip I got will come in handy." Nelaus muttered.

"Oho. You got it from Higureya?" Past sounded amused.

"Who knows?" Nelaus teased.

"Balrog Dash! Hro~h!" Balrog roared.

He continued dashing forward and Isaac barely jumped out of the way as he swung his tail around the area thus making some small craters on the ground: the ground shook with violence and Isaac was having trouble keeping his balance.

"Battle Chip, Holy Dream! Slot In!"

The blast of energy momentarily blinded Balrog before Isaac drew a Silver Fist and hit his upper chest four times in a row before jumping away.

"1220 HP lost… Time for a power-up! Annihilator Chip, Slot In!" Past decided.

Balrog's flames turned purple and his eyes also turned purple: Annihilator Man's chuckle rang out of his mouth.

"So! _Danna_ – sama came out to say "destroy us all"!" Nelaus announced with a hint of sarcasm.

"Why. You seem eager to be destroyed!" Annihilator Man sounded amused.

"And you seem eager to join Bert Saxby." Isaac shot back.

"Ah. Bert Saxby… _Diamonds Are Forever_… I remember that." Annihilator Man recalled.

"Showdown! S – Program: Start!" Nelaus commanded.

Isaac was surrounded by reddish energy and switched to another form.

This alternate "Bestialize" form had a helmet with a golden edge and a red shape aiming backwards and upwards protruding from it: a greenish jewel in the form of a bird was set on the forehead as well.

The face was partly hidden by the mouth-guard yet the eyes displayed that Isaac was conscious of what he was doing.

The upper part of the chest armor had a brownish/grayish color plus a red stripe just underneath the blackened chest emblem: it looked like a bird's torso, even.

The forearms had red armor with a grayish/brownish edge around the wrists plus a small triangle-like piece near the start of it: the hands had become finger-claws colored white.

The boots had a greenish/azure diamond set over the knees and a general conical shape with three large metallic claws instead of the usual feet fingers.

Two sets of wings of four each one colored red with an azure edge emerged from the back of the body and seemingly allowed for Isaac to fly upwards.

"Falzer Form!" Isaac announced.

"Interesting! Come!" Annihilator Man sounded amused.

"Feather Shoot!"

Isaac drew a weapon similar to the Wide Shot Battle Chip and shot some brown-colored feathers at Balrog: they exploded upon making impact but Balrog didn't seem to care.

"That should've drained close to 1310 HP… But there's still a lot ahead so I've gotta be careful…" Isaac muttered.

"Death Wrecking Ball!"

"Fly!" Nelaus commanded.

Isaac flew skywards and grabbed the Death Wrecking Ball: he tugged it and suddenly let go of it as it hurdled towards Balrog: he was hit in the upper torso and some cracks formed on that segment of armor.

"Damn." Past cursed.

"His own attack took out about 90 HP, so… He's exactly at 1400 HP with another 1400 to go…" Isaac muttered.

"But we could shatter that bit of armor and be able to deliver 2X damage to the guy." Nelaus whispered.

"Gruo~h! Balrog's Breath!"

Balrog flew towards Isaac while shooting out a streak of purple flames: Isaac dodged and flew towards Balrog from beneath.

"Falzer Claw!"

Isaac plunged the right claw into the cracked armor segment and ripped it off thus revealing the skin beneath it: he attacked it with both hands before Balrog whipped his tail around and pushed him away.

"Good! I did about 200 HP of damage… 1600 HP drained… Still another 1200 to go… But I won't give up!" Isaac exclaimed.

"Battle Chip, Recovery 200! Slot In!"

"Hmpf. Clever tricks! But that won't be enough to defeat me." Annihilator Man proclaimed.

"I wonder about! Program Advance! Yoyo, Triple Slot In!"

"Yoyo Blade!"

The combined Yoyos plunged into the wound and inflicted damage to Balrog: he suddenly grabbed the weapon and tugged it to draw Isaac towards him: but Isaac let go of it and placed a Count Bomb on top of the device: it detonated in front of him and Balrog roared.

"Yeah! 380 HP of damage… 1980 HP drained… Another 800 HP to go: we're making progress!" Isaac exclaimed.

"Grrrr… Clever guy… But our power is more than this! Hell's Door: open! Unleash the monsters!" Annihilator Man exclaimed.

Balrog "cut" the air again and opened that gateway again: two Garuu Viruses ran out and began shooting flames at Isaac: he grabbed them and tossed them towards Balrog to distract him.

"Feather Shoot!"

The feather embedded into the flesh and detonated thus inflicting damage to Balrog again: he quickly shot forward and rammed Isaac with the right shoulder thus pushing him to the ground: he delivered five to six stomps of his feet before jumping away.

"Damn. I've lost up to 840 HP! And I'd healed to be around 300! This guy is getting serious even though I drained another 240 HP: he's lost around 2220 HP but there are close to 600 HP left…!" Isaac groaned as he tried to stand up.

"Battle Chip, Recovery 300! Slot In!"

"Phew. I feel better. Falzer Claw!"

"Death Wrecking Ball!"

Isaac jumped but Balrog corrected the aim of the weapon and it hit Isaac fully thus pushing him towards the ground: he managed to stand and quickly skid across the ground before jumping into Balrog and hitting the exposed flesh with his claws.

"Falzer Claw!"

"Burning Body!"

Purple flames surrounded Balrog and Isaac was forced to jump away as he flew into the air while Balrog beat his wings and shot skywards as well: Isaac grumbled.

"I did about 180 HP of damage, so… He's lost 2400 HP insofar and is at the last 400 HP! And it hasn't even been four minutes… The Chip's effects won't vanish for another six minutes…" Isaac muttered.

"Feeling anxious? I guess Vader is about to sneak on you, Rainon." Past chuckled.

"Yeah. And Sidious is gonna pick you as his new apprentice to replace Vader. Like how Twilight picked Bapgei." Nelaus sarcastically replied.

"Oho. That'd be intriguing." Past sounded intrigued.

"You lowlifes walked into a trap! Balrog's Anger!" Annihilator Man laughed.

"Damn! It must be something like that "Pain Barrier" Witch used: it'll deliver damage back to me!" Isaac cursed.

"Vanish!" Annihilator Man exclaimed.

Balrog glowed as purple electricity built up: an energy beam shot forward:

"Battle Chip, Warp Hole! Slot In!"

"W-Warp Hole…? I'd never heard of it!" Past sounded surprised.

"It's a little something Blood Shadow came up with. He let it to me for test purposes." Nelaus grinned.

Isaac built up energy and opened a hole similar to the Black Hole Battle Chip colored white: the energy traveled inside of it and vanished: a new hole opened behind Balrog and his own attack hit him from behind thus causing major damage and for most of his rear armor to crack and fall off as well as damage to his skin: he was logged out while Isaac sighed in relief and cancelled the Falzer transformation.

"It'd seem Gandalf pulled a trick out of his hat." Nelaus sarcastically told Past.

"Hmpf. Whatever. It's not like we're invincible, anyway. And you had an unforeseeable trick, too. I'm off and don't try following me: you'll regret it, Rainon!" Past grumbled as he drew the sub-machinegun.

He jumped into the bike and quickly ran off while Nelaus sighed in relief and picked up the Duel Stage: he then made a broad grin.

"He should've said he's cha Kansai cousin."

"Miss Ayanokouji? Why are you here?"

"Heh! I got tipped."

"By Freeze Man."

"Freeze Man? He must've wanted to set up a gag scene."

Yaito stepped in while drinking some strawberry milk and looking amused while Glyde told Isaac why they were there.

"So! Are cha gonna go out into a date with my Kansai cousin?"

"You've got no Kansai cousin. Unless ya mean Future."

"In the Future there'll be a Futuristic Cousin." She giggled.

"How lame." Isaac grumbled.

"Totally, sir!" Glyde exasperatedly replied.

"Tee, heh, heh, heh. Oh The Timeless Kansai Cousin With Malice And Evil!"

"Patent it, Miss Ayanokouji. I'm off before she drives me mad… Huff."

09:29 AM (Japan Time)…

"… I shall not offer any excuses."

"Don't be concerned."

Past was kneeling in front of the usual LCD screen and Priest sounded calm enough.

"You fought to the very end but they used a clever strategy: and you proved them that even that Bestialize form had its limitations. You should take a rest: go challenge that Hinoken man for a thrill." Priest told him with a hint of amusement.

"Yes, sir. Roger, sir." Past saluted.

"Oh. And beware of Prophetess: she's getting somewhat out of control as of late. She might try following you to your home: Future contacted me about that. I'll deal with it, though, so if she did show up, just tell her to go away." Priest warned.

"Roger, sir."

"You may go. Rama will guide you." Priest finished.

Past stood up, saluted, and headed over to the garage to pick the bike: he climbed into it and turned it on.

"Heh, heh, heh. We're just getting into the interesting part, our dear public. Stay tuned!"

"Wroh, hoh, hoh! Sauron – dono's armies will march out of Mordor and sweep the lands with anything standing on it!" Balrog laughed.

"Yeah. You'll then come out, too, and paint Minas Tirith blood red in honor of the Southern people."

"Ain't it obvious, _aibou_?" Balrog looked like he was grinning under the head's armor.

"Yeah. Full speed ahead! To Rohan we go! Yahoo~! _Let's go there~_!"

Past shout out of the garage while laughing aloud…

09:33 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Annihilator Man. Contact Ancient. I've got a little job for him and he should take on the stage. Check up with Present, too, and give him a new set of orders."

"Yes, sir! I'll be back immediately, sir."

Annihilator Man bowed inside of the hologram capsule and exited the base's Cyber World.

"Huff."

Priest lowered his hood to reveal his face: he hadn't changed much ever in the years which had ensued following that encounter with Dr. Regal but his eyes' irises were purple by now while his hair reached past his neck.

"… Power… Without it… I'd be dead by now. It's the only way to keep my nightmares at bay… I now have power." Rick Anderson muttered.

He tapped both armrests as he read down a holographic screen with some data being displayed over it.

"Hmmm… That lead on Octopus – han is too vague… I know that he's being hidden by the "Committee", yet… Something is picking me. He showed up for the first time four years ago during the period when Darkloid Shirakami took control of the Darkloids…" He muttered with a hint of suspicion.

"_My Master_. I am back." Annihilator Man announced.

"That was fast." Anderson lifted his eyebrows.

"Yes, sir. I issued the orders, sir. And Axe Man gave me some info Destruction Man had picked up: a little file taken out of IPC."

"Oh? Ijuuin wrote that? Wait… Does that mean…? Oh…! I see…! So this is why no-one knew how to locate him…"

"Indeed, sir. There's no mistaking it." Annihilator Man confirmed.

"Heh, heh, heh. Fine. Things are about to get thrilling!"

"Define "thrilling", Reclaimer."

"Jeez. When I did turn that thing on?" He slapped his face.

"Eh… 4 minutes 37 seconds ago, sir."

"Not 11 minutes 6 seconds ago?"

"Eh… No, sir? Why?"

"Jeez. I thought it'd been 666 seconds." He rolled his eyes.

"Ah… I see, sir."

"Don't be so stiff. I did program you to be dynamic and have humor and all after all. You're not my servant."

"I knew it, sir."

"Huff. Alright, alright. Do as ya like… That which doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger… _Mighty Ducks_… Watched it some years ago…"

"I see, sir."

"Define "Mighty Ducks", Reclaimer."

"Jeez. That software imitating 343 Guilty Spark is silly. I'm a _Halo_ fan but nevertheless… At least I'm not as terrible as Twilight given his mania to rip out stuff and spoiler us." He sighed.

"Truly, sir."

"I'm worried about that "apprentice" named "Darth Bapgei"… We really don't have any clues to their ID? It could help narrow down Twilight's location in Melbourne."

"No, sir. They pretend to be a foreigner or they are a foreigner."

"Hmmm… Maybe they're from Melbourne even… But it's hard to search in such a huge city… We're talking about the capital city of Australia!"

"Maybe we could focus on the current strategies and shove it aside, sir?"

"Why not… Well then. Father. Witness… How I shall make you proud!"


	15. Chapter 15: Sharp edge

**Chapter 15: Sharp edge**

10:09 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday June the 22nd…

"… There's nothing out of place… No bug and no error… The system is working fine, too."

"Fine. Wrap up the patrol."

"O. K., Webmaster!"

"Very original."

"Heh, heh, heh."

Omega was walking through a Cyber World somewhere: the ground was made of metallic squares and there was a locked gateway further in labeled "MAIN PLAZA".

Another locked gateway to the south was labeled "EXIT #4".

There was a hologram projector built in the middle of the Cyber World which projected a hologram of Uranus.

"Ready?" A hushed voice asked behind the "EXIT #4" gateway.

"Ready!" Four voices confirmed.

"What the…? Someone found the entrance?" Vadous cursed.

"Weird. And we did camouflage it as an abandoned store!" Omega frowned.

"Rama…?"

"No. Those voices ring a bell somewhere."

There was a sudden explosion and the gateway was blown up: Omega quickly drew the O – Saber as alarms rang out.

"Warning. Warning. Code A. Code A. Ship personnel please report to the command bridge. Code A. Code A." An auto-voice rang out.

"Found ya! Rock Man!" Five voices exclaimed.

"Five of them… Couldn't be… _Those guys_…?" Vadous sounded rather annoyed.

"Cut Man Brothers!"

Jiiro, Saburo, Shiro, Goro and Rokuro ran inside and made their group pose: they suddenly seemed to freeze on the spot upon spotting Omega with the O – Saber.

"Y-you're…! One of the mysterious Navi…!" Jiiro gasped.

"You guys… You were looking for Rock Man?" Omega questioned.

"Obviously!" Saburo replied.

"That guy did…" Shiro began.

"… in a cheating manner…" Goro continued.

"… delete Ani – chan!" Rokuro finished.

"Did you know what your Ani – chan was gonna do? Blow up a dam, flood a valley and kill all who were there. So?" Omega grumbled.

"Wha~t?" They yelled in disbelief.

"Wait a minute! Weren't you guys deleted two years ago when you worked for Neo Gospel?"

"What "Neo" Gospel?" Jiiro asked.

"Guess those were copies, then…" Omega lifted his eyebrows.

"E~h?" They uttered in disbelief.

"Listen: you have two choices."

"What?" They gasped.

"One: go back. Two: be slaughtered here and now." Omega announced as he took one step forward.

"Ya~h!"

"Che."

They ran off through the way they'd come in through and Shadow Man popped his head inside.

"Good morning. I saw the Non Elegant Troupe of Fun and Comedy Make Their Graceful Retreat." He announced.

"Huff. Shadow Man. Did they run off?" Omega asked.

"Yeah. Almost like Michelangelo was about to have them as breakfast, even... Heh, heh, heh." Shadow Man chuckled.

"Guess some rumors must've circulated of our occasional use of this store even though we always are very discrete. What a blow to the HQ's security." Vadous grumbled.

"Yeah. Maybe we'll have to cut off most entrances and leave just one or two in hardly accessible spots."

"Maybe. Anyway… I'm off. See you around, Oh Blonde Shining Knight Of Grace And Pace." Shadow Man shrugged.

"And tell those guys that I'll slaughter them if they show up here again by blowing up the door!" Omega called out.

"My pleasure. I shall Inflict Fear Beyond Imagination. Heh, heh, heh."

He came out while Omega headed over to the door and removed it from the frame to then bring in a replacement one: laser energy fields came up on both sides of it and he sighed.

"This should keep any attackers at bay. Just what have those five guys doing ever since December 2004, anyway?"

"I guess they must've plotted or worked as mercenaries."

"I like Shadow Man's idea, though. Those guys need Michelangelo to chase after them: I'm sure it'll make them think it thrice before daring to show up here again." Omega grumbled with obvious annoyance.

"Yeah. It can't be helped! We've gotta keep the HQ secure, after all"

"I'm off to sealing up all but Entrance #0: see ya later."

10:24 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh. Easy!"

Ancient was loading some wooden crates into a green non-descript van parked inside of a garage somewhere: he looked amused.

The crates had no label but were slight large as if to indicate they held something large inside of them.

"Sabotaging the security systems to get inside of this confiscated weaponry warehouse was easy. Now we can sell these and make a good business out of them." He muttered.

"Heh. The Net Saviors will have to walk around with SWAT armor, even, and this will become like Mexico City." Ronin Man grinned.

Ancient's Link PET beeped and he checked it.

"An urgent call from Priest – sama… Hello?"

"Ancient. What do you think you're doing?" Priest questioned.

"I am sorry?" He feigned misunderstanding.

"Didn't Annihilator Man bring orders to go investigate that sect named "The Last Summer"? I didn't say anything about selling weapons to terrorists. And Present didn't, either, nor did any other member. So? Will you explain that?" Priest questioned with a hint of annoyance.

"Eh… I thought that…!"

"You "thought". While I allow free thought… I don't allow for the members to go out of bounds. Ancient. I hired you to look into sects and similar organizations given how you were part of one: I didn't hire you to steal weapons from a police warehouse." Priest began to sound annoyed.

"Eh… That is…" He trailed off.

"Last chance: go investigate those guys ASAP or you get fired. Say bye to that salary and to the Annihilator Chip. Which one?" Priest challenged.

"Eh… Crap. Tight spot…!" He muttered.

"You have 180 seconds starting _NOW_. If there's no reply then I'll consider it as "no"." Priest told him.

He fell silent and Ancient began to sweat in nervousness while looking around: his hands shook and he looked unable to decide anything.

"130 seconds left." Priest warned.

"Ancient – sama…!" Ronin Man called out.

"Damn…! But… This business would make me win more than I usually get so… I'd lose the power bonus if I did that…!" He muttered.

"105 seconds."

"But they used me as a mere investigator…!" He grumbled next.

"Hum. It certainly was not a job fitted for us…" Ronin Man muttered.

"80 seconds."

"… Grah! I can't decide which is better: having a lot of money or losing the Annihilator Chip…! I guess the second is nothing compared to the gains I'd get with the first one…!" Ancient muttered.

"50 seconds."

"Yeah…! Besides… We weren't even told the emplacement of the HQ, so it's no big deal." Ronin Man shrugged.

"25 seconds."

"I decide! I follow _my_ road!" Ancient yelled.

"Well then… Annihilator Man will be there to pick the Chip. Go ahead and do whatever you want. Your usefulness is over." Priest shrugged.

"Hmpf! You people are just one of multiple parties I used to my personal profit!" Ancient boasted.

"And you no longer have the codename "Ancient". You keep on being your civilian ID: Torinaka Eyuda." Priest added.

"Hmpf!" Ronin Man made a smug smile.

Some "Dimensional Converters" emerged inside of the room: a "Dimensional Area" formed and Annihilator Man materialized.

"Hand over the Annihilator Chip and here you have a new Link PET: the other has compromising data." He ordered.

Ronin Man calmly switched Link PETs: the new one had just the _Kanji_ for _ronin _written in black against a white background: its colors were blue and black.

"Hmpf."

Torinaka gave Annihilator Man the Chip and picked the new Link PET.

"Good. Farewell." Annihilator Man calmly announced.

He dematerialized and retrieved the "Dimensional Converters" along the way: Torinaka shrugged.

"Whatever. I'll make a fortune out of this!" He muttered.

"I wonder about that." A familiar voice rang out.

He gasped and turned around: the shutter had been lifted open by a small percentage and Dark Miyabi was standing in front of it while having his arms folded.

"Miyabi! You lowlife!" Torinaka cursed.

"Hmpf. So you got fired. I'm not surprised. You no longer hold any leads to Rama but you nevertheless can be convicted of stealing police-confiscated weapons." Miyabi told him.

"Showdown!"

Torinaka tried to punch Miyabi on the face but he calmly stepped to the left and he hit the shutter instead: Miyabi suddenly gripped his left arm and used a _judo_ technique to throw him into the ground: he then picked a loose wood ruler and hit him behind the head with it to knock him out.

"Good. Shadow Man. Take care of the rest: the police are on their way here to pick this guy up." Miyabi commanded.

11:06 AM (Japan Time)…

"… We get called here and I know who's called us."

"Yeah. It was obvious!"

Netto walked into a concrete pier within the Densan City Harbor and found Present waiting there: he'd removed his coat to reveal a sleeveless gray shirt underneath it: he had his arms folded and a Duel Stage was set in front of him in the ground.

"Present." He drily muttered.

"Indeed." He merely replied.

"Axe Man." Rock Man icily hissed.

"Hmpf." Axe Man made a smug smile.

"We're standing by." Blood Shadow whispered.

"If that guy tries anything funny then we butt in." Sigma added.

"I'm counting on you guys. Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!" Netto announced.

Rock Ma entered the arena while Axe Man lifted his weapon and let the edge of it shine in the light.

"I've been waiting for this moment." He announced.

"Does Priest really except you to win or he's expecting you to collect useful combat data?" Rock Man calmly questioned.

"Hmpf. Who knows?" He shrugged.

"Obviously: he ordered the second thing. I think he'd rather have Annihilator Man face me." Rock Man dully replied.

"Hmpf." Present shrugged.

"_Clichéd_." Netto lifted an eyebrow.

"Showdown!" Both announced.

"My normal HP is 1550! If I were to go full mode then they climb up to 3100! Come!" Axe Man announced.

"I'm not going to be intimated so easily." Rock Man replied.

"Soul Unison, Fire Soul! Slot In!"

"Double Fire Arm!"

Rock Man aimed for the face and Axe Man, out of instinct, had to use his left hand to block it: Rock Man jumped atop his right shoulder and focused his Fire Arms' output into the axe's handle: it melted so the axe fell into the ground and got stuck there: Rock Man quickly aimed for the upper torso next before jumping away.

"I barely talk and I get 250 HP damage… And my main weapon has been destroyed…! Che! Warrior's Blade!" Axe Man grumbled.

He took out a tournament sword along with an octagonal metallic shield and charged towards Rock Man while aiming the blade for his neck: Rock Man crouched and jumped into the air while aiming for him.

"Battle Chip, Hell's Burner! Double Slot In!" Netto announced.

Rock Man quickly aimed to both the front and the back while bathing Axe Man with his overpowered flames: Axe Man roared and tried to jump and hit Rock Man with the sword but he blocked it.

"Shirahadori." He announced.

"Shit. Those two attacks drained close to 500 HP off me… I've lost 750 HP and this guy is unhurt!" Axe Man growled.

"Axe Man! Composure. Coolness." Present commanded.

"Roger, sir! Warrior's Punches!"

Axe Man tried to use his bare armored fists to hit Rock Man but only hit a Straw Doll which then countered with an attack of its own: Axe Man turned around and tried hitting the real Rock Man: a _chibi_ doll showed up and four _shuriken_ got embed on his back: he roared and madly swung his fists around.

"A combo…! I've been drained of over 1080 HP in barely two minutes and I haven't gotten to hit him!" Axe Man cursed.

"Damn. They've changed their strategy around: they incite you to attack and use both counters and over-powered Flame Attribute Battle Chips or attacks… And my Folder is either Sword – Type or Breaker – Type! Bothersome meddling guy!" Present was losing his coolness, too.

"That sounds more like the Darkloids." Netto shrugged.

"Hra~h!"

Axe Man ran towards Rock Man who calmly waited for him while folding his arms: an explosion happened beneath his feet and it made him fall into the ground in face-up position.

"Che… Grah… Stealth Mine…! 1400 HP drained…! Only 150 left in normal mode…! Present – sama!" He growled.

"Che. It can't be helped. Annihilator Chip, Slot In!"

Axe Man was surrounded by the familiar white glow and Annihilator Man's chuckle rang out.

"Good job, Rock Man! However! I'll show this guy's true power from now onwards! Blade Dance!" Annihilator Man proclaimed.

Eight swords materialized around Axe Man and then shot forward: Rock Man calmly jumped forward as they landed around the spot where he'd been at a second ago and then ran towards the enemy.

"Battle Chip, Shooting Star Shower! Triple Slot In!" Netto announced with a grin.

"What!" Annihilator Man gasped.

Rock Man drew the rod and countless incandescent shooting stars bombarded the ground around Axe Man with all of them forcing him to shield himself: Rock Man wasted no time on turning his left forearm into the Fire Arm, jumping into Axe Man, and pressing the muzzle against the armor: the intense heat began to melt some of it away.

"Guo~h!" Annihilator Man roared.

Rock Man kept on attacking and didn't mind the explosions ringing out: the terrain began to be filled with craters and smoke as Rock Man didn't give Axe Man any breaks: he then jumped away as Axe Man collapsed into his knees from the high damage.

"This attack's base power is 80 per Battle Chip: each Battle Chip shoots five attacks, so it actually clocks at 240. 240 per 3 make 720. Add the 25% bonus of the Fire Soul and you'll get an extra 180. Total damage: 900. And the Fire Arm summed up 150, so… 1050 HP of damage for you. You've lost close to 2500 HP by now and you've got around 600 left." Netto made some calculations aloud.

"1050 HP…! And that's coming from a Soul Unison at a lower power than the Omega Soul…!" Present gasped.

"It's not "lower power": the Omega Soul combines high-attack techniques in continuous attacks and sums up quickly but Flame – Attribute Battle Chips with the Fire Soul can turn into deadly techniques, too. I've gone over countless forms of battling over these 4 years and something ever since I got my first "Soul Unison"..." Rock Man calmly exposed.

"I should've expected it…!" Annihilator Man growled.

"Battle Chip, Air Hockey! Slot In!"

"Take that!"

The Air Hockey began to bounce against the walls of the Duel Arena and hit the still debilitated Axe Man several times, around six in total, before deleting itself.

"You're Sword – Type and you get 2X damage from Breaker Type Battle Chips, so… Each hit is 40 per 2… 80. 80 per 6… 480 HP drained, summed to the 2500 you've lost insofar… You've lost close to 3000 HP and you only have 100 HP left by now." Netto calculated.

"That's… impossible…!" Present cursed.

"There's nothing "impossible": that's skill." Rock Man replied.

"Why, you…!" Annihilator Man hissed.

Axe Man stood up and ran towards Rock Man while roaring but Rock Man calmly aimed his Fire Arms at him.

"_The End. _Double Fire Arm!"

The blasts of fire hit him and Axe Man roared before he was logged out and Rock Man cancelled the Fire Soul.

"So!" Netto grinned.

"Che." Present scoffed.

He picked his coat and jumped into a motor boat parked next to the pier: it ignited and shot towards the harbor's entry as Netto picked up the Duel Stage.

"Gotcha." He grinned.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah…! Bert Saxby's Curse took place!" Sigma laughed.

"Very original!" Blood Shadow protested.

"It was nothing." Rock Man shrugged.

"…"And then there were none"… This is starting to sound like that novel's title, even." Netto muttered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! Sherlock Hikari Jr. strikes back!" Sigma chuckled.

"Jeez." Blood Shadow sighed.

"O. K. Let's go make a report 'bout this."

"Sure. And then let's go wander around for a while." Rock Man suggested with a smile.

"Mwah, hah, hah… I'll treat ya to a ride in the rollercoaster!" Sigma joked.

"Sure." Saito lifted one eyebrow.

"Saito – kun! Don't believe everything he says!" Blood Shadow groaned.

Netto and Blood Shadow sighed in defeat while Saito and Sigma grinned.

"OH YEAH! LET ZA TIME HIT ZA TOWER!"

"Cloud Man."

Cloud Man's hologram formed in front of Netto while making his classical smug smile and looking like he wanted to taunt.

"I gotta say something! LET ZA AXE HIT ZA WOOD!"

"You're not telling me you're incentivizing the guy to go after Wood Man next, right?" Blood Shadow questioned with some skepticism.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Nature VS Man!"

"You be quiet." Saito sighed.

"What, Rock Man… Your good mood got blown away?"

"By the wind? Yeah. So be quiet for a while and do us a favor."

"Heh, heh, heh, heh. Rock Man! Freeze Man – sama says you almost got turned into _ice statue_ back when your first meeting!"

"Well. That's true. My battle technique was lame, my Battle Chips were weak and I wasn't trying to draw up any plan." He shrugged.

"So you admit you weren't THAT good?"

"I never said I was invincible. Unlike someone else." He glanced at Netto with a slightly annoyed glare.

"Oi, oi… Don't look at me like that, Rock Man!"

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! Now talk about interesting! That was an exceptionally hot November day, they say."

"It was. It was all over the news."

"You're so dry, really! Dry Man controls ya~?"

"Who knows? Maybe Cosmo Man would know the answer."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah." Sigma chuckled.

"What now." Blood Shadow complained.

"I heard the Cut Man Brothers got into the HQ and Commander Omega made them run off."

"So it was like Search Man said: the ones involved in the "Neo Gospel Summer" were copies."

"Truly!" Cloud Man confirmed.

"Huff. Let's go back home already. I can't stand this jerk."

"Heh, heh, heh. Next time… I'll be the one to frighten Higure Yamitarou: I'll beat Swallow Man's rivals to it!"

"Sure, sure." Blood Shadow shrugged.

"Go capture Regigigas."

"Delighted. O~i~! Re-gi-gi-ga-su~! Come~!"

Netto walked off while ignoring the guy as he laughed aloud: Netto stuffed both hands into the pockets and hummed a tune.

"Well. Nelaus' birthday is next Monday. We better think of a good present: Yaito – chan takes care of the party itself."

"True! And it's Wednesday so there's still some time."

"'Cause Dialga lent it to us! Mwah, hah, hah, hah."

"Sigma… Cha don't know when to be quiet and NEVER did."

"Wasn't it obvious after all these years, my yet-to-be-room-mate~?"

"… You're using a cover word. You mean "lover" but remember that we're sexless Net Navis!" He whispered back.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. I remember that, my cutie~…"

"Stop pretending to be a _yaoi_ guy 'cause Cold Man did that 4 years ago and you know how the tale ended like!"

"Yikes. I don't wanna see Commander Omega that pissed off again."

"Right? Well. Let's go home. Let's look forward to the party. Heh, heh."


	16. Chapter 16: A view to battle

**Chapter 16: A view to battle**

16:05 PM (Japan Time), Thursday June the 23rd…

"… I get called to this apartment building's rooftop and I'm sure I know who wants to challenge me."

"Heh! The _Sheriff_ will kick 'em outta town!"

Martin was climbing up a set of stairs and heading for an open door at the end of them: he exited into the rooftop to find Prophetess and a Duel Stage set on the ground: Witch was already waiting for them inside of the Duel Arena.

"Hiya~!" Prophetess blew a teasing kiss.

"Prophetess. You've got something to do with the "Scarlet Hawk", I'd rather say." Martin told her.

"Correct, _handsome_. They're my newest employer: I made a nice deal with them. But they're over by now: I'm sure the terrific "Committee" will soon have blown them up." She giggled.

"Fine. Showdown! Plug In! Lander, Transmission!"

Lander entered the system and drew both Colts: he placed the index fingers on each one's trigger space and spun them around: Witch looked amused.

"So. You wanna play the _Sheriff_." Witch grinned.

"Yeah! Let's go! Colt Shower!"

Lander suddenly jumped towards the left while slowly shooting bullets off his colts: Witch brought up the Witch Barrier but Lander had aimed for an angle which made the bullets ricochet off the ground and graze Witch by moving towards the right and behind the Witch Barrier: Lander rolled towards the left before standing up and aiming the Colts upwards.

"What in the…! Each of those bullets inflicted 45 HP of damage! And I got hit by 12, so…! I lost 540 HP of damage already…! And the Witch Barrier was in vain, too!" She gasped.

"Crap." Prophetess muttered.

"Oi. I'm a Net Savior! I didn't get the post out of chance or favoritism, you know!" Martin exclaimed.

"O. K.! Reloading: over. Let's go~!" Lander grinned.

"Why, you…! Ice Spell!" Witch hissed.

She hit the ground with her staff and a large patch of it around Witch frozen and became ice: Lander skid along it and jumped over Witch as she aimed her staff at Lander: he landed behind her and then jumped away again: Witch turned around and took a step forward: something exploded under her feet and sent her flying to hit the iced floor and shatter it with violence: she groaned and tried to sit up.

"Stealth Mine…! Another 300 HP drained…! 840 HP lost…! I haven't even hit him yet…!" She hissed.

"Battle Chip, Tank Cannon! Slot In!"

"Tank Cannon!"

"Foolish! Witch Barrier!"

The Tank Cannon's blast was absorbed by the Witch Barrier and then shot back at Lander: he grinned.

"Gotcha."

"What!"

"Battle Chip, Heavy Gauge, Custom Sword! Double Slot In!"

Lander took out the Custom Sword and hit the purple electrical sphere of energy produced by the Witch Barrier: it bounced back at the origin and collided with the barrier, making it explode and inflicting damage to the opponent.

"Damn. My Witch Barrier can't repel its own discharge…! You've made lose 240 HP…! 1080 HP lost…! And this guy is totally unhurt! This is a one-sided battle!" Witch cursed.

"Catch me." Lander taunted.

"Why, you…! Magma Spell!"

Her staff's spheroid shone with a reddish light as she hit the ground and everything around her became magma: Lander dropped down into the small safe space mere inches from Witch: she used her staff to block Lander's Custom Sword.

"Each time you step into the magma you lose 50 HP! Tee, heh, heh, heh, heh! How's this like?" She laughed.

"Ask Merlin, Morgana!" Lander grinned.

"Yeah! I'm Morgana Pendragon: and you're over! Hrah!" She laughed again.

Witch pushed Lander into the magma but a log appeared instead and it was incinerated: four _shuriken_ got embed on her Witch Barrier from behind and then exploded as she began to lose balance.

"E-Earth Spell!"

The ground was replaced by forest-like terrain and she sighed in relief for a moment before getting annoyed again.

"This guy…! 200 HP drained… 1280 HP in total…! One – sided battles are unfair!" She cursed.

"I won't let myself be hit in purpose." Lander shrugged.

"Rain Spell!"

Gray clouds formed in the sky and rumbled before starting to discharge rain around the area: Lander gasped and seemed to have realized something.

"T-this is _acid rain_! I'm being drained 10 HP per second! I'd lose a whole 600 HP if a minute elapses and I'm still unprotected!" He gasped.

"Crap. Battle Chip, Dream Aura! Slot In!"

The Dream Aura formed and Lander sighed in relief.

"You can't run away from the acid rain! All Barrier – Type Battle Chips also suffer degradation! The Dream Aura's max capacity is 300: it'll be destroyed in just 30 seconds! Thunder Spell!" Witch laughed.

"Crap." Lander muttered.

One thunderbolt fell down from the skies and hit the Dream Aura thus forming a crack on a segment of it: more began to rain down around the area.

"Each of these takes out 60 HP! The Dream Aura has lost 50 by now, so if we sum up 60, we end up resting 110 HP! Kyah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h!" Witch laughed.

"I pissed her off and this happens: point taken." Lander muttered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Battle Chip, Samurai Sword! Slot In!" Martin backed him up.

A second thunderbolt hit the Dream Aura and its condition began to worsen as evidence by the expanding cracks.

"This thing has lost close to 200 HP by now. It won't last much longer and I gotta get close to her…" Lander muttered.

He ran forward but Witch seemingly saw it coming: Lander stepped into a Stealth Mine which took out the Dream Aura and summed up real damage to him.

"Crap. This and some acid rain have taken out close to 250 HP… My max HP is 1800, so… Slightly over a sixth of them… I've gotta be careful or this will end up ugly." He cursed.

"Go!" Martin rallied.

Lander lifted his Samurai Sword and let a thunderbolt fall on it: it got electrified so he plunged it into the Witch Barrier: the resulting merging of energies detonated it and inflicted damage to both parties as they were pushed back.

"Grah! I've lost 250 HP! 1430 HP lost…!" Witch cursed.

"Huh… Another 250 HP for me, close to 500…" Lander groaned.

"Che! Let's make this harder! Wind Spell!" Witch cursed.

Strong winds began to blow out and the rain seemed to increase in intensity: Lander simply lifted his Samurai Sword again and electrified it at the same time Witch drew a Samurai Sword, too, and charged it up as well: both then jumped towards each other and clashed blades as the acid rain slowly drained their HP.

"I've increased its power: you now lose 8 HP per second! Earthquake Spell!" Witch exclaimed.

The orb gained a brown coloring and she hit the floor with the staff: an earthquake ensued and part of the arena was deleted while cracks opened and small ramps appeared.

"Thunder Sword!" Both exclaimed.

They shot at each other and their attacks clashed and annihilated each other while pushing them back.

"80 HP of damage… 1510 HP lost…! Prophetess – sama! I think we've reached the critical point!" Witch called out.

"Roger! Annihilator Chip, Slot In!" Prophetess confirmed.

Witch glowed with the familiar white aura while Annihilator Man laughed and made her step forward.

"Interesting! A battle with all of Nature wearing you down… Maybe we should name it _A View to Battle_?" He sarcastically suggested.

"That's a rip-off from _A View to Kill_: the James Bond film starring Roger Moore… Not surprising: you're from King Land, too." Martin calmly told him.

"Plant Spell!"

Some thorn-filled vines came out of under the ground while they began to draw forms around the area: Lander calmly cut any which came close and focused on his opponent.

"Crap. A full minute has ensued and I got 440 HP of damage from the rain… I've gone over the 1040HP of damage…! And she's lost a similar number, so… She's gone suffered over 1950 HP of damage… But she still has a lot of reserves…" Lander muttered.

"Battle Chip, Recovery 300! Slot In!"

"Phew. We cut it back to around 750 HP of damage… Good. Let's go for more, Martin!"

"Battle Chip, Tornado! Slot In!"

"No way!" Annihilator Man cursed.

The tornado broke up the clouds and cancelled the acid rain as sunlight flooded the terrain: Lander suddenly dropped down from inside of the tornado and hit Witch's forehead with his right foot: she was tossed into the ground but quickly lifted up.

"Hum! 60 HP of damage… Over 2010 HP of damage… No big deal! Tee, heh, heh!" Prophetess muttered.

"Program Advance! Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In!"

"Giga Cannon! Eat this!" Lander exclaimed.

"Foolish one! Witch Barrier!" Annihilator Man laughed.

"I wonder about that…" Martin grinned.

"No way!" Prophetess gasped.

"Battle Chip, Sigma Sword! Slot In!"

Lander drew Sigma's large black and green sword: he hit the returning amplified Giga Cannon attack and it impacted on Witch because it was as the same polarity as the Witch Barrier: a brutal explosion ensued and she was forced to automatically retreat into her Link PET.

"Che!" Prophetess cursed.

"I'd seem you don't know what tennis is about." Martin grinned at her and sounded amused.

"A billion blue blistering barnacles!" Annihilator Man cursed.

"Heh, heh! _Sheriff_ Lander kicked ya outta town for cheating in the _saloon_, ya see! Go challenge Blueberry next time around!" Lander snapped his right hand's fingers.

"You Yankee….! Che! Prophetess! Return!" Annihilator Man hissed.

"Roger! I'll remember this!" She threatened.

A "Dimensional Converter" popped out of the ground and warped her away while Martin picked up the Duel Stage.

"I wonder if IPC and Gabcom's newest war will be over who will get the rights to use these… Guess a judge will impose a free license on these since none of them developed it." Martin muttered with a hint of amusement.

"Sure! Let's bring Billy around and make a _rodeo_ to catch any industrial spies!" Lander suggested.

Martin chuckled and headed downstairs into the street: he spotted a black Honda FRV car parked there and one person standing next to it.

"Ah. Mr. Denpa. It's been a while."

"True, Mr. Blackdesu."

The man named Mr. Denpa looked around his mid-twenties.

He sported a black cap and sunglasses.

The rest of his clothes were a black raincoat, jeans and black sneakers: He was leaning against the right side of the vehicle.

"Might I drive you to the Net Police HQ?" Mr. Denpa offered.

"Thank you very much."

"Please climb in."

_Heh, heh! The "tennis" trick is very useful to catch enemies unaware while shooting their attacks back at them!_

17:08 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Ah. Colonel Thunderbolt. Welcome, sir."

"Good afternoon."

A man was standing inside of a simply decorated hall with two closed doors in front of him.

He looked on his forties.

He had blond hair although his face was covered in hardened veins: his eyes' irises were blue in color

He was dressed in an olive green military uniform and He had long brown leather gloves on, too, plus boots.

His interlocutor was a man on his forties.

His eyes' irises were colored in brown color: he had a thin brown moustache, and short brownish hair.

He had reading glasses on.

He was and wore white plastic gloves plus brown shoes.

"We have opened a new line of business recently, sir." He told the man named Colonel Thunderbolt.

"Oh?" Colonel Thunderbolt lifted an eyebrow.

"It's a slight deviation from the usual line, but… Given how it's gained popularity quickly amongst the clients… We have reduced personnel and budget to the main line… There's almost no sense to it to try to run both in a parallel manner since the clients are obviously going to shift towards the new line of business." The man exposed.

"Ah. I thought as much."

"Ah. A person you know has explained it, sir?"

"Well… Correct. Yet… I'm afraid I bring bad news to your business, _Comrade_… Have a look at this if you may." He calmly replied.

He rummaged into his coat's inner pocket and took out a white envelope without any sign or seal: the man opened it and drew a paper which he unfolded and read: his face suddenly turned white and he began to sweat in a nervous manner: he then looked up at Colonel Thunderbolt who looked deadly serious by now.

"I… this… I-it's a joke, sir, ain't it, sir…?" He uttered.

"Wrong: it's reality." Colonel Thunderbolt replied.

"T-this can't be…!" The man gasped.

"It can: end of story." Colonel Thunderbolt shot back.

"S-security!" The man called out.

Nothing happened for about two minutes until a man came in: he had blond neatly combed hair and looked on his forties.

He was sporting sunglasses, a black suit, pants and shoes.

He carried a gun which was missing its clip.

"Commendable, yet futile… Koyoki – sama." He announced in a dull tone of voice with a hint of amusement.

"You lowlife…! Traitor…!" Koyoki cursed.

"Traitor, you say? I never was a loyal grunt. Is that not right, Colonel Thunderbolt?"

"_Kuwabara_, _kuwabara_… Correct. Chief Lezareno." Colonel Thunderbolt grinned.

"You lowlifes…! What happened to the _real_ security?" Koyoki demanded with obvious anger.

"Oh. They must be sleeping after I treated them to some cups of _martini_ using your credit card." Lezareno grinned.

"M-my credit card…! That's… impossible…!" Koyoki cursed.

"There's nothing impossible for us."

The sound of police cars coming close rang out along with the screech of their sudden braking: several police officers ran in by ramming the door open and aimed their guns at Koyoki.

"Nobody move! Police!"

"The cavalry has arrived." Lezareno announced.

"_Game Over_, snake!" Colonel Thunderbolt added.

"Koyoki Narai! You're under arrest for six teenager abductions, privation of freedom, illegal business and consequential abuses! This business is now considered illegal and will be closed down. All clients who participated in teen abuse will be arrested, too." A police inspector announced.

"Then arrest that man!" Koyoki cursed.

"No. Colonel Thunderbolt just came in to inform you of the judicial permit to shut the business down and he hasn't participated on that new "branch" of your usual business. Take him away."

"Nobody move! Police!"

"Thank you for your help, gentlemen." The inspector told the two men.

"Please don't mind it: we "Committee" wouldn't let such creeps in Tottori get away with it, inspector – dono. If it had kept on being an "only – adult" type in which the workers do it out of wanting it, then it's no legal problem. But we don't tolerate the abducting of teenagers and trying to exploit them." Chief Lezareno explained.

"Like Chief Lezareno said…" Colonel Thunderbolt shrugged.

"Excellent. We'll meet again, gentlemen."

They heard a motorbike's engine and Past ran off the alleyway atop his bike: he left a paper which Colonel Thunderbolt crouched to pick it up.

"Good work, gentlemen. Please keep it up. Yours truly, Past."

Both looked slightly amused at the note and they chuckled…

17:22 PM (Japan Time)…

"… The "Committee" had already taken care of them by the time I got there, Priest – sama."

"Good."

Past was reporting to Priest over the LCD screen: Priest sounded satisfied with the outcome.

"Continue the current mission and report any findings to me: check up with Prophetess, too." Priest commanded.

"Yes, sir. By your orders, sir."

"But don't push it, either. Make sure to take a rest and then go out when you feel ready: don't neglect any normal activities. I don't want you to lose experiences because of your affiliation to Rama, either."

"Roger, sir."

"You may go."

Past quickly ran into the garage and let out a large sigh of relief as he climbed into the motorbike.

_Those club lowlifes will eventually destroy themselves. Heh, heh, heh,, heh, heh. "Secret Empire"? Don't make me laugh! That "Ice Queen" villain only could control them through forcing them into paying back credits extended to them! It was an illusion which that Vadous guy shattered and broke: they now are weak, disorganized and eager to destroy each other to try to rob them of profits and of their own competency. _

"Those guys would've shuddered if they'd heard the sound of drums accompanying my grand entrance! They would have run through Moria in vain until they fell off into one pit or another! Wroh, hoh, hoh!" Balrog laughed.

"Not bad. Let's go~!" Past chuckled.

He applied speed to the bike and quickly ran off the HQ while driving at a high speed and laughing aloud…

17:50 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Wow. The police dismantled a large illegal club which had been doing unmoral activities. That's nice to hear."

"Yeah. The leftovers of the so-called "Secret Empire" are slowly being rounded up. And Twilight seems to have realized it's pointless to pour black money there too."

Netto and Saito were having ice creams while sitting in a table inside of the Densan City Shopping Mall: the TVs of a nearby electronics store displayed the latest news and both looked glad at them.

"By the way! Lander took profit of my little present: he bounced an attack back at the enemy to blow them up! Mwah, hah, hah, hah…"

"Whoa. The "tennis" trick…" Netto whistled in surprised.

"… Vincent would love it!" Saito giggled.

"Vincent… Please. He's a useless drunkard." Blood Shadow sighed.

"Mwah, hah, hah… But he's unbeatable when it comes to humor! Maybe we should plan something for the guys at Maha Ichiban's?"

"Wily would like that! Let's spread a rumor that there's a secret Battle Chip which sweeps the floor with everything standing on it: both Hinoken and Count Elec would fight to death for it!" Netto grinned.

"Madoi will claim it's the work of aliens while Maha will try to teach them about _yoga_ by bringing up the tapes of his old TV shows!"

"Oi, oi… That face tells me you're up to something, Saito - niisan!"

"Oho. Sherlock Netto - sama strikes back." Saito grinned.

"Sigma is giving you weird ideas: I know he's to blame!"

"Heh, heh. Did ya say something, Blood Saxophone-beat?"

"OH YEAH! LET ZA WITCH HIT ZA CAULDRON! Mwah, hah, hah, hah!"

"Lovely. And now Cloud Man hijacks speakers… Just lovely. What a day."


	17. Chapter 17: Destroy them all

**Chapter 17: Destroy them all**

18:20 PM (Japan Time), Thursday June the 23rd…

"… Man. Another boring salesman… Like Twilight is directing them to me…"

"Enzan – sama: please be realistic."

"Blues… Can't you catch sarcasm?"

Enzan walked into his office and sat down in a lazy manner on his VP armchair while muttering aloud: Blues looked like he didn't catch Enzan's sarcasm while Enzan rolled his eyes.

"Really… The old man _did_ place something on you! You can come up with jokes and good comments but other times you turn so stiff and rigid…"

"Ah… It might be the case, Enzan – sama." Blues muttered.

"Whatever. Please check my inbox."

"Roger, sir. There's a new message from Omega: he gives us instructions to find the new uplink to the Subspace HQ: they've had to cut some of them off given the recent intrusion by the Cut Man Brothers."

"Fine. Anything else?" Enzan asked as he drank some cold water.

"Hum. Future mailed Enzan – sama: he's challenging us to come by 18:45 at the Game Soul Game Center."

"He must wanna make publicity of the Duel Stage…"

"Correction: the Game Center's basement room." Blues corrected.

"Fine. Let's go moving: a battle will help me shake off the bad mood… And I wanna be in a good mood by Monday." Enzan grinned.

"Roger, sir. By the way: an email from "Dr. YY" says you were right, sir."

"Jeez. I KNEW it! Twilight. You moron. You wanna overload me! And you do that by sending boring salesmen over here! Jeez! What a moron!"

"No good."

18:41 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Yo! Been a while. _Danna_ – sama! I applaud your extra hours!"

"Hum. You keep on having that sarcasm… It's catching on me."

"My, my."

Enzan met up with Future on the basement room of the Game Center: the Duel Stage was already set on the center of the room.

"Yo! Blues! My fists are itchin' for a cool battle like last time 'round the clock! Brin' it on!" Destruction Man challenged.

"Fine!"

"Plug In! Blues, Transmission!"

Blues entered the Duel Stage while Destruction Man readied his fists and grinned.

"Destruction Rollin'!"

Destruction Man materialized two ring-like objects the outer surface of which was filled with spikes as in snow tires: they began to roll towards Blues and he readied himself.

"Battle Chip, Variable Sword! Slot In!"

Blues blocked both wheels but suddenly found Destruction Man in front of his noses with his right fist accumulating reddish energy.

"Crusher Fist!"

The attack hit Blues on his stomach area and sent him flying to then land in a hard manner against the ground: he groaned and tried to stand up to dodge Destruction Man hitting the spot in the ground where he'd fallen at a second ago.

"Shit. He's gotten faster and I already lost 200 HP!" Blues growled.

"_Version Up_, then…" Enzan muttered.

"Yessir!" Future laughed.

"Let's go~! Destroy Spinning!"

Destruction Man began to spin around his axis and built up inertia to then jump and shoot forward as if he was a torpedo: kinetic energy surrounded him as he flew towards Blues: he was hit but a _chibi_ doll showed up instead: four _shuriken_ hit his back and Destruction Man was forced to land back on the ground: he grumbled something as Blues showed up behind him with a smile.

"Che! 200 HP, too… Bah. Still got 1450 to go before we decide to brin' in the heavy guns!" He muttered.

"Battle Chip, Iai Form! Slot In!"

"Hrah!"

Blues hit Destruction Man from behind and he suddenly turned around to deliver a powerful kick to his upper torso which sent him flying and landing hard on the ground.

"Ya took 180 HP off me… Well then, I took 90 off ya." He grinned.

"Che. Battle Chip, Dyna Wave! Slot In!"

"Take this!"

"Heh, heh, heh."

"Crap!" Enzan gasped.

The red sensors glowed as that black hole-like effect happened and Destruction Man drew the Dyna Wave: he hit the floor with it and the powered-up attack hit Blues.

"Heh, heh, heh! My sensors can make attacks shoot back at 1.5 times its base power: ya get 150 HP of damage!" Destruction Man chuckled.

"Damn. Forgot about that…" Blues grumbled.

"There's more! Destroy Quake!"

Destruction Man jumped into the air and his feet shone with kinetic energy as he landed down into the ground and caused a large tremor.

"W-whoa!" Blues gasped.

The ground shook and he was trying to keep his balance: Destruction Man suddenly loomed over him and Blues gasped.

"Battle Chip, Gold Fist! Slot In!"

Blues managed to hit the chest armor and pushed the enemy back as his sensors were triggered.

"Heh, heh, heh. That weapon did 160 HP of damage to me… So I'm going to return 240 to ya! Data Gold Fist!" He chuckled.

"Battle Chip, Straw Doll! Slot In!"

Destruction Man's counter-attack hit the Straw Doll and was hit by its effects: he roared and was electrified by purple electricity from the Straw Doll itself: Blues grinned.

"I ended up takin' up another 320 HP! Total damage: 880 HP! Clever…!"

"Has your confidence lowered?" Enzan challenged.

"Nope, _Danna_! I'm still runnin' at a 100 KPH!" Future laughed.

"Then… Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword!" Enzan announced.

"Dream Sword!"

"Black Hole Chaos!"

Destruction Man's two chest compartments opened and began to suck air inside: the Dream Sword split in two and was sucked it to then reform as two separate swords in both of his arms.

"Hyah, hah, hah, ha~h! Each of these bases can do 375 HP of damage: both are gonna do 750 HP of damage! Let's go~ and not go~! Black Dream Sword! Double Attack! Hra~h!"

Destruction Man leaped across the air towards Blues but he saw it coming as evidence by his smile: Future gasped while Enzan lifted his eyebrows: he'd seemingly walked into a trap.

"Battle Chip, Shirahadori!" Enzan announced.

Blues stopped both Dream Swords with his hands and suddenly picked them off to hit Destruction Man with each of those: powerful wounds formed on his armor and some of it cracked to reveal a normal Navi bodysuit under it.

"Whoa! 1630 HP drained…! Only a mere 20 HP left…! Future! Guess it's time to call _Danna_ – sama!" He whistled in surprise.

"Yeah. Annihilator Chip, Slot In!"

Destruction Man's armor regenerated and gained both black and purple patterns across it: Annihilator Man laughed and brandished both fists as if challenging Blues.

"Using Destruction Man's weapons against himself… The irony of life, I'd rather say!" He announced with obvious sarcasm.

"Come!" Blues challenged.

"Fine! Destruction Dance!"

Destruction Man suddenly began to move like he was dancing and suddenly jumped towards Blues while his body glowed with a blackish aura: he extended his knuckles forward and made impact thus plunging them into Blues' body while a sharp wind made cuts to his bodysuit: he roared and managed to kick the enemy of the face to break free: Blues stepped back and panted.

"Damn. 250 HP of damage: 690 HP lost by now…! I'll have to be careful or I'll get into a pinch." Blues muttered.

His chest emblem began to pulsate and he gripped it while he seemingly struggled to keep his balance.

"D-damn! He infected me with some bug which drains me 5 HP per second…! I'll lose 300 HP once a full minute passes!" Blues cursed.

"Shit." Enzan growled.

"Coolin' off, _Danna_?" Future teased.

"Che! Battle Chip, Energy Bomb! Slot In!"

"Take this!"

Destruction Man calmly caught the Energy Bomb with his left hand and analyzed it before tossing it back at Blues: he caught it and threw it back at Destruction Man: he kicked it and it hit Blues due to its high return speed.

"Grah…! This thing normally does 100 HP of damage… But because he analyzed it twice, it returns 3 times the base damage… 300 HP lost… 1040 HP lost if we sum the bug's damage…!" Blues cursed.

"Battle Chip, Recovery 300! Slot In!"

"Phew. Let's go!" Blues muttered.

"Battle Chip, Samurai Sword, Tornado! Double Slot In!"

Blues drew the Samurai Sword as the tornado formed around him and he disappeared inside of its body: Destruction Man crouched and jumped towards while brandishing his fists.

"Useless!" Annihilator Man laughed.

However, he was met with the Giga Count Bomb Program Advance instead of Blues: the explosion caught him by surprise and tossed him into the ground: Blues suddenly plunged the Samurai Sword into one chest compartment to make it malfunction: he then jumped away.

"Crap. A combo which drained 780 HP off me… 2410 HP lost… But I still have close to another 800 HP to go!" Annihilator Man cursed.

"Hmpf. The hunter became the hunted." Enzan grinned.

"Nice sayin', _Danna_, but that won't enough to beat me, ya know." Future chuckled.

"Destruction Meteors!"

Meteors began to rain down from the skies and bombard the arena while causing heat and smoke explosions: Blues gasped and focused on dodging.

"Destruction Kick!"

Destruction Man suddenly showed up in front of Blues and delivered several kicks to his stomach area: he growled and managed to punch the damaged armor plate to crack it: Destruction Man jumped away and didn't seem to care about it.

"Damn. A full minute has passed… 250 HP lost plus this guy's attack sum up another 200 HP… 1490 HP lost…! I'm getting too close to my max HP at this rate…!" Blues cursed.

"Battle Chip, Recovery 150, Recovery 200! Double Slot In!"

"Phew. Lowered to 1150… Not yet!" Blues sighed in relief.

"Battle Chip, Ratton 3, Area Steal! Double Slot In!"

Blues warped and suddenly appeared in front of Destruction Man: he slipped the Ratton 3 inside of the armor's hole and it detonated thus inflicting damage to him from the inside.

"Clever bothersome guy! 200 HP of damage… 2610 HP lost…"

"Battle Chip, Bug Bomb! Slot In!"

"Bug for a bug!" Blues improvised a motto.

The Bug Bomb met its intended target and Destruction Man's body frizzled: his chest emblem began to pulsate and Annihilator Man growled.

"…Initial damage: 100… Bug ratio: 5 HP per second! 2735 HP lost!"

"Come!" Blues challenged.

"Che! Destruction Dash!"

Two boosters ignited behind Destruction Man: he shot forward and headed towards Blues: he hit him but a _chibi_ doll showed up instead.

"No way!" He cursed.

The four _shuriken_ hit his back and two embedded into the boosters, detonating them and inflicting additional damage.

"Damn…! 3035 HP lost! Ultimate Destruction…!"

Destruction Man accumulated energy and his sensors glowed with black light as they seemingly calculated something: he then hit the floor with both fists and it began to crack starting at the outer edge.

"Try to defeat me before the whole stage vanishes!" He challenged.

"Fine!" Blues replied.

"Battle Chip, Full Moon _Kunai_! Slot In!"

Blues jumped across the air towards Destruction Man and plunged the_ kunai_ into the hole in the chest armor: Annihilator Man groaned as the sensors frizzled and seemingly became overloaded.

"170 HP…! 3205 HP lost…! Only 95 to go…! And the sensors have become overloaded!" He cursed.

"Hmpf." Blues grinned.

"You lowlife~! Die~!" Annihilator Man roared.

"Battle Chip, Tank Cannon! Slot In!"

"_The End_." Blues grinned.

The close-quarters blast took out the remaining HP and Destruction Man was warped out of the Duel Arena along with Blues as it finally deleted itself and the machine shut down: Future shrugged.

"Cool showdown, _Danna_. I've got a lil surprise hidin' under my sleeves: Octopus – han's true colors: the Hikari brothers!" Future chuckled.

"What!" Enzan gasped.

"How…?" Blues demanded.

"Priest – sama did some research! See ya! _No pain_, _no gain_! _Check it out_!"

He snapped his right hand's fingers and escaped: Enzan picked the Duel Stage and placed it inside of a cardboard bag while looking nervous.

_Crap. I hope they don't try to blackmail us with that…!_

19:17 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Ah… Search Man…. You like going all out, eh?"

"Guess so…"

Saito and Search Man were making out inside of Search Man's Link PET: a bed recreation had been set on it so both were making out intensely.

Saito was sitting on Search Man's lap and letting him lift him up or slide him down along his cock: Saito was playing with his own cock and balls as Search Man rubbed his nipples.

Saito looked ecstatic while Search Man was grinning.

"Well… Blues did a good job against that guy, I'd say. Maybe he'll pick me next time around." Search Man commented.

"Yeah… He looks like the hyperactive type who won't remain quiet for long, even…" Saito giggled.

"Does this feel good, Saito?"

"It always feels good… But please don't quarrel with Blues over this: both of you are good friends, after all!" Saito told him.

"Sure. It still amuses me how your Operator doesn't mind Laika – sama's weird manias."

"Oh… Netto – kun just plays along… He wants to look like the tough guy, but… It's not that bad when you're willing to do it, I guess…" Saito replied with a chuckle.

He suddenly gasped and began to rub his cock at a faster pace while Search Man also increased his pace: Saito closed his teeth as he released: his inner muscles gripped Search Man's cock and made him go off as well: both then panted and smiled.

"You're a good friend, Search Man. _Thank you_."

"Don't mind it: let's go." Search Man shrugged.

He lowered his body covered them with the blanket …

19:22 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So… We've had a _Round 2_ for all of them… Maybe Annihilator Man in person will be coming out next time around. We should be careful with what new tricks he might have."

"Yeah, Boss. I'd say he's been watching some James Bond films to get inspired, too."

"That's not a crazy idea."

Vadous and Omega were speaking inside of the mess hall: Vadous was sitting on the bench while Omega was standing next to it.

"By the way… I've arranged for Monday. It took some convincing, but Ayanokouji – sama will set the party on her mansion's gardens. Her father was able to convince her. With some persistence from the others guys too…" Omega admitted with a grin.

"Really… Miss Ayanokouji can be slightly stubborn when she wants to: that joke with the dragon proved it." Vadous rolled his eyes and looked amused.

"It'll be a good day. And even if Rama shows up we go along for the thrill: they'll have to eat the leftovers of the cake." Omega joked.

"Not bad. O. K. I'll go make sure to get my best suit ready: but we can make a second party here, too, at the evening."

"Leave it to Dragon: he'll come up with some simulated Choina fireworks to decorate the party." Omega blinked him an eye and signalled the kitchen's double doors with his head.

"Perfect. Later."

Vadous walked out of the mess hall while Omega grinned and rubbed his hands in excitement.

"_It's party time_!" He exclaimed.

He chuckled under his breath and looked amused as he tiptoed out of the mess hall…


	18. Chapter 18: Bright day

**Chapter 18: Bright day**

06:55 AM (Japan Time), Monday June the 27th…

"… Whoa. Already up?"

"Yeah… I feel so nervous…!"

Nelaus was sitting on his house's living room sofa while having already dressed up: he looked thrilled while Isaac was surprised.

"Do as you like, but… Knowing Hikari Jr., then he won't be up for another hour unless Sr. drags him here by the ears." Isaac grinned.

"I know… But… It feels… I'm not sure… One year… I've been alive for one year… And a lot of things have happened, too!" Nelaus exclaimed.

"Yeah. You're now officially 17 years old and a cool man." Isaac joked with a grin.

His Link PET rang and Nelaus gasped: he quickly picked it up and Omega showed up onscreen.

"Yo! Nelaus! _Happy birthday_!" Omega told him.

"Thanks, Omega! You're the very first after Isaac." Nelaus thanked.

"Heh, heh! Boss will be calling soon enough: he's still napping because Lartes doesn't want him to get bad habits like in the past. And my good mood as of late… Meh. I feel like it, you see."

"Dr. Lartes sure is a strict medic!" Nelaus grinned.

"Were you talking about me?"

A man showed up onscreen at Omega's right.

He had black hair and brown eye irises: his age was aobut the same as that of Vadous.

He wore a medic's coat with the ID "Dr. Kazimura Lartes" written on it and sported brown pants plus shoes.

He also had a pair of reading glasses on, too.

"Oh! Nelaus. Congratulations on your birthday!"

"Thank you very much, Dr. Lartes. It means a lot for me."

"I was just saying that you're a strict guy, Lartes." Omega grinned.

"Yeah. You can't be loose with Boss or he'll get into a mess with his food and sleep." Lartes sighed.

"O. K., then… See ya later!" Omega blinked him the right eye.

Nelaus grinned and sighed once the call ended and he left the PET on top of the table: he looked emotional.

"This is… going to be the best day ever since… I defected from Deadly Pandora…" He muttered.

"True."

DING DONG!

Nelaus lifted his eyebrows and headed over to the door: he looked out through the peep hole and spotted Enzan standing outside: Nelaus unlocked the door.

"Yo! Nelaus. Happy birthday!" He told him.

"Thanks, Enzan. It means a lot to me." Nelaus thanked.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure. I already cleansed everything, anyway."

"So… Blues. Was that Destruction Man a walking tank?"

"Sure was…" Blues admitted.

Enzan sat on the sofa opposite Nelaus' and had a glass of cold water: he sounded refreshed and had a look around.

"You're not fond of much decoration, either." He guessed.

"Yeah. Never was, I'd rather say. I'm not surprised you're here so early: you must have the habit of waking up early." Nelaus shrugged.

"Yeah. And since my secretaries suggested me a break for these days, no one will find it odd I didn't come to work!" Enzan grinned.

"Sneaky." Nelaus chuckled.

"It'll feel weird to go to Ayanokouji's place for the big party, but… No – one quarrels on a birthday."

"Nelaus! A call from Arushi is coming in." Isaac reported.

"Oh. Arushi – kun… Patch him."

"Roger, Admiral."

"Good morning, Nelaus – kun!"

"Good morning, Arushi – kun."

"Happy birthday! Hikawa – kun let me know 'bout it."

"Thanks." Nelaus thanked.

"When does the party begin?" Arushi asked.

"12:30." Isaac replied.

"Excellent. I'll be there."

"By the way… The presents will be given out at the party."

"Fine. It's barely 7:30… 5 hours…! They'll be endless. I need something to take this nervousness off…!" Nelaus muttered.

"Hmmm… I guess nobody else will be so early at the morning, so… Why don't we go to the Game Center? We could play that Virus Busting game and see who clears it faster." Enzan suggested.

"Perfect. Isaac: send a mail saying that if they want to find me then send a message and I'll reply to it when we meet at the party's time."

"O. K., Supreme Overlord!" Isaac laughed.

"Please… Don't use a Yuuzhan Vong rank…!" Nelaus groaned.

"Ah. The Yuuzhan Vong war… I read about it." Enzan grinned.

07:45 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmmm… _Curry_… Maha Jarama… Another Maha Special… Heh, heh, heh, heh… Hinoken and Count Elec battle again, Madoi tries out weird make-up and Wily is trying to amuse Miyabi… Maha Ichiban's is the craziest curry shop in the world!"

"Come at full power!" A heavy voice challenged.

"Let's go~!"

BLOMPF! CRASH!

"Whoa!"

Netto groaned and rubbed the back of his head after he'd fallen from the bed into the ground: Sigma was laughing.

"Sigma…! Ya jerk…!" Netto cursed.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! That's the man I know!" Sigma laughed.

Netto looked at the bed at his right: it was already fixed up.

"What… Niisan is already up? Fast guy…! What's going on, anyway?" Netto groaned.

"Did ya forget? Nelaus' birthday is today!"

"Crap! Crap! Crap!"

"Jeez! Netto – kun! Don't you care about Nelaus?" Saito protested as he walked in.

"I'm really sorry! I thought that wasn't until Sunday!" Netto apologized.

"We marked the day on the calendar for something."

"Mwah, hah, hah… Isaac let me know through SMTP that he's going to the Game Center, so we have time to go arrange for the party." Sigma grinned.

"SMTP…? A new store…?" Netto frowned.

"Jeez. _Simple Mail Transfer Protocol: Port 25_!" Saito grumbled.

"Eh…? Dock 25 of the port…?" Netto frowned.

Saito got a twitch over the right eye and Netto gulped: Saito headed over to the balcony door and opened it to let some fresh air inside of the room: he then loomed over Netto and didn't look amused: he even looked deadly, for once.

"Netto – kun. Breakfast." He drily announced.

"Y-yeah…!" Netto gulped.

He quickly stood up, picked his folded clothes from a chair and ran into the bathroom: Saito merely headed outside into the balcony and looked outside into the empty streets.

"Jeez. Netto – kun is so dense at morning…" He muttered.

"Can't be helped, Saito – kun…" Blood Shadow smiled and shrugged.

"Hum… Sorry, niisan… Eh… What did you by that earlier talk…?" Netto timidly asked as he stood in the threshold.

"SMTP… Simple Mail Transfer Protocol: it uses Port 25! That's what allows anyone to send out any email anytime anywhere: a key component of the email system! And don't think I'm a "tech geek": I was living in computers for over six years so it's obvious that I'd know how it works when sending emails out." Saito explained with a sigh.

"Ah… Gotcha…" Netto slowly nodded in understanding.

"And you use the Post Office Protocol 3 or POP3, Port 110, to receive any email from anyone: these two are vital to configure an email client system and server."

"Sorry for before… I was still rather asleep…" Netto apologized.

"I forgive you, but please try to be more considerate with our friends: now go and have breakfast."

"Y-yeah… _Thank you_." Netto quickly looked animated.

Saito smiled and stretched as he kept on looking at the panorama…

08:10 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Let me go…! You monster…! You used _her_…! To get close to me…! And do this to me…! I don't care how much you beat me or how much you look down on me…! I'll see to it that… you're caught by the police…! And then… those who suffered at your hands… will be avenged…! You can't destroy my will…! No one can…! No one…!"

"Anderson – sama! Are you alright, sir?"

Anderson gasped and sat up on a bed: he looked panicked and was panting: he was wearing red-colored pajamas.

The bed was set close to the throne column and Annihilator Man could be seen looking towards him from inside of the holographic capsule: he had a concerned face.

"Annihilator Man…? What day is it today…?" Anderson asked as he clutched his forehead with his right hand and sighed.

"Eh… Well… Monday June the 27th, 2009, sir… 08:11 AM Japan Time Frame, sir… Are you alright, sir?" He replied.

"… A dream…? No… That memory has revived… That's what led to me to creating Rama… Although it took me some years to realize it…" Anderson muttered.

"Eh… I wouldn't want to invade Anderson – sama's privacy, so… Maybe I should perform a checkup of security, sir?"

"No. Stay. I need someone to talk with. You're my Navi. But that doesn't mean you're not a person you can't talk with." Anderson replied.

He climbed out of the bed and walked over to the capsule: he placed his right palm against the glass and looked at Annihilator Man, who quickly saluted.

"This ain't the military…" Anderson told him.

"Yes, sir! By your orders, sir…!"

"That wasn't an order, either."

"Ah… Excuse me, sir?"

"Listen: you have a free personality for something. Pretend I'm not your owner. Pretend I'm someone else. Talk in a normal way. I always tell you're not my servant." Anderson told him.

"Eh… Hum… However… Eh…" Annihilator Man seemed to doubt.

"I won't get angry by anything."

"Eh… What would be a… topic… to talk about?"

"Dunno. Pick it up at random."

"Eh… Maybe gaming would do fine, sir?" He suggested.

"Sure."

"Eh… Truth to be told, sir… I sometimes identify myself with the _Halo_ franchise character "Gravemind"… Given how it can "talk" through infected life-forms and rules over them, I find it strikingly similar to when I use cache copies of my personality file to control our Navis via SSH… But I'm rather glad I'm not that freakish monster, sir."

"Oh… That's an intriguing parallelism. Yeah. I see the point of it, too… And since I'm a _Halo_ fan to begin with… Do you have any other ideas?"

"Eh… I'm not really sure, sir…" He hesitantly replied.

"Come on. Anything." Anderson encouraged.

"Well… It's strange, but… I think that it would be possible to simulate a game's environment with a VR system… One would be able to meet recreations of those characters, even…" Annihilator Man suggested.

"My. That'd be intriguing! I'd like to meet Luigi in person and see his Specter Vacuum in action." Anderson chuckled.

"I-is that so, sir…?" He looked nervous.

"Come on! You're too stiff sometimes. Be more natural. I told you: I won't get angry at any topic you bring out, so… Go ahead." Anderson encouraged.

"Eh… Thank you, sir… Hum… Sometimes, I think I would be fitting to pilot a mass-produced Metal Gear RAY, even…" Annihilator Man admitted.

"An AI-controlled RAY… My. You're starting to give me ideas. And Twilight did get to pilot one 2 years ago and 1 year ago he deployed them around the DNN Studios too… He's too much of an _MGS_ geek."

"I am glad of it, sir…" Annihilator Man improvised.

"Anyway… I'll go have something for breakfast. Don't try contacting Past today: he has a deal to go to Rainon's birthday party. Try to tell Prophetess not to start a ruckus today." Anderson commanded.

He opened a door to step into a small kitchen: he picked a segment of a frozen _baguette_ from the freezer and placed it inside of the microwave heater.

"OK."

He then picked a dish and a glass: he server some cold water inside of it and drank it: he sighed in relief and sat down on a foldable metallic chair.

"… Four years… It's been four years since then… And it continues to haunt me… But I broke free. I'm free. Nobody can try to destroy my will and persona anymore." He muttered with a sigh.

The heater pinged so he stood up and took the segment of the _baguette_ out: he used a knife to open it in two halves and coated with oil before adding some ham: he brought it to the foldable plastic table and began to eat it while taking some sips of water.

"Good."

He cleansed everything before heading over to the main room and opening a wall-built-in cupboard.

He picked a white T-shirt with the Scotland flag drawn into it, black boxers, jeans, white socks and sneakers.

He picked the tunic from a chair and put it on, too.

"Another day's begun… Well. Let's continue with our research."

12:14 PM (Japan Time)…

"… We're here. Ready?"

"I feel so nervous…!"

"Heh, heh."

Nelaus and Enzan were standing in front of the iron gates which marked the entrance to the Ayanokouji Mansion: Nelaus looked nervous while Enzan was patting his back.

"You'll be fine. Let's go." Enzan grinned.

The gates swung inwards and both walked up the path into the main clearing where the tree-house was placed at: several small round tables had been set around the area along with plastic chairs and garlands: Yaito's maids were constantly going up and down to finish setting up dishes, glasses, forks, knives, drinks and other stuff: several of Nelaus' friends were already gathered there and talking.

"W-whoa…" Nelaus looked awed.

"Leave it to Ayanokouji's maids to set everything at light-speed." Enzan grinned.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY~!" Everyone exclaimed.

"T-thank you!" Nelaus quickly replied.

"Come! To the honor seat ya go!"

Yaito suddenly showed up behind him and began to push him forward: she wore her typical red dress and shoes.

"O-oi! I can walk there myself!" Nelaus protested.

"Tee, heh, heh!"

Yaito lead Nelaus into a red-colored chair and had him seat down before a maid placed a thin cardboard golden-colored crown on top of his head: Yaito sat down in front of him and giggled while Nelaus blushed and looked nervous.

"Now ya look cooler!" She giggled.

Aura suddenly showed up behind her.

She sported a black T-shirt, a sleeveless jean-like coat, a knee-long goldenrod skirt, and black plastic boots.

Her hair was neatly combed as well.

"Ayanokouji – san! Don't try to pick on Nelaus – kun!" She protested with a hint of annoyance.

"Whoa. Aura – chan… That looks fitting on you…" Nelaus whistled in surprise.

"I'm glad of it, Nelaus – kun! It took me an hour to get myself properly ready!" She giggled.

"Hiya~!"

"Whoa!"

Isaac gasped upon seeing how Felicia had opted for an open sleeveless jacket and a navy blue shirt, a short white skirt, black stockings and white shoes,.

"You look like Sakurai, even." Isaac commented.

"Yeah. I got inspired. Have a look." She giggled.

Isaac glanced at a nearby table: Meiru was sitting next to it and teasing Eboshi with a continuous glare.

She sported her classical blue sleeveless shirt and another sky blue shirt beneath it, jeans and black plastic boots.

"Eboshi – kun… Next time you go elsewhere, call me too, will ya? Unless you're up to something…" She told him.

"G-gladly!" He quickly replied.

"Tee, heh, heh. My shining knight has his sharp sword ready 24/7, doesn't he~?" Roll teased Omega.

She'd changed her normal bodysuit for white shirt with the Jawaii flag, a green skirt which ended slightly over the knees and heeled black plastic boots.

"Yeah. I do. You never know when trouble will be coming out, so… It's practical." Omega sighed and rolled his eyes as he folded his arms: he was seemingly trying to bear with it.

"Yo! Eboshi – kun. You're lucky!" Arushi teased.

"Please…!" Eboshi groaned.

"O. K.! All guests are 'ere: let's start!" Yaito giggled.

The maids began to bring dishes of curry rice with meat and sauce: Netto immediately looked eager while Saito lifted his eyebrows.

"_Itadakimasu_!"

Everyone began to eat and chat.

"By the way! Nelaus! Is Omega's boss 'round 'ere?" Yaito questioned.

"Eh… Oh. Yeah. Table 4, in front of Netto and Saito…" Nelaus replied after looking around.

Vadous was wearing a black suit with a black necktie and blue contacts: he'd also neatly combed his hair up.

"Good! I wanna tell 'im one or two things!" Yaito grinned.

"You're still annoyed by the dragon joke?" Nelaus sighed.

"Nope. It's business!" She giggled.

"I find that hard to believe. Don't you, Glyde?" Isaac asked him.

"M-maybe…" Glyde gulped.

Yaito headed over to Table 4 and sat in the empty chair to Vadous' right: he noticed and looked at her.

"Oh. Miss Ayanokouji. I think it's the first time we meet." He politely told her with a welcoming smile.

"So ya are that Vadous man… What are ya plotting this time around, hmmm?" She looked suspicious.

"I knew it: she's still annoyed by the dragon joke." Omega grumbled with some annoyance.

"Yaito – chan…" Meiru rolled her eyes.

"Please… It's a birthday party! It's not time for grudges." Vadous sighed in defeat.

"Hmmm! I will…!" Yaito began.

"I do not own a corporation and I don't speculate in the stock market, either, so not even your honorable father will be able to do anything regarding me." Vadous quickly told her.

"Che!" She grumbled.

She jumped off the chair and returned to her table: she picked a strawberry milk bottle and drank it up: she then looked at Arushi, sitting at Nelaus' left, and grinned.

"Arushi – kun! Ya gotta be free." She teased.

"Yikes!" Arushi gasped.

"Trouble, trouble…" Tooru muttered.

"Kidding. Tooru – kun! Ya are my boyfriend: don't forget that and don't try to run off to Okinawa with Arushi – kun!" She told him.

"_Hai~_…" He trailed off.

"Tee, heh, heh! O. K.! Bring out the cake!" Yaito called out.

Whispers began to ring out as the butler pulled a trolley with something covered on top of it: he stopped in front of Table 1 and pulled the cloth.

"Here it is."

The "something" was a full-chocolate cake shaped after the Great Pyramid of Giza: the two candles for "17" were set atop it.

"Whoa~!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Say it, everyone!" Yaito rallied.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY~!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Thank you very much! Everyone!" Nelaus nervously replied as he stood up and then bowed.

Nelaus blew the candles and everyone clapped to congratulate.

"Butler! Go ahead." Yaito commanded.

"Yes, Mistress…"

The butler began to cut the cake into portions and the maids handed them out to everyone: cava bottles were also brought in and served in cups: a general toast ensued.

"Congratulations!" Everyone exclaimed.

"T-thank you…" Nelaus nervously replied.

Everyone began to chat again while Nelaus was seemingly trying to not to break down into tears out of the emotion.

"Nelaus? Are you alright?" Isaac asked in a whisper.

"… Yeah. It's… It's impressive how… many persons… are here today… to congratulate me…"

"Nelaus. You're a nice guy. That's all."

"It's more than that… You know what I mean…" Nelaus whispered back.

"Nelaus. Don't think about that right now… Just enjoy."

"Yeah… You're right…" Nelaus sighed in relief.

"O. K.! Everyone! Bring out the presents!" Yaito announced.

"W-whoa!" Nelaus gasped.

Yaito handed him what looked like a self-made medal with the words 'AYANOKOUJI FRIEND CLUB' written on its golden surface.

"Cool."

Nelaus put it on and looked surprised.

"Tee, heh, heh! This way ya won't forget about our friendship!"

"Hey, Nelaus! Here." Netto grinned.

"Accept these." Saito blinked him an eye.

"Whoa… Dynamic Wave… Atomic Blazer… Custom Battle Chips!" He whistled in surprise.

"Those are good Battle Chips, de masu, but none beats this one, de masu! Here, Nelaus – kun, de masu! Have this one, de masu!" Higure grinned.

"Wow. Meteor 9!" Isaac whistled in surprise.

"It was my idea." Number Man whispered.

"Leave it to the Math teacher to come up with a mathematical idea! Bwah, hah, hah!" Sigma improvised a joke.

"Very intelligent." Blood Shadow dryly told him.

"Here, Nelaus – kun! A ZARA cap: it's good for summer!" Aura handed him a navy blue cap.

"Isaac – kun: you get a pair of stylish sunglasses, too!" Felicia told him.

"Whoa. I look cool." Isaac commented as he tried them on.

"I got this… I hope you like it, Nelaus – kun!" Arushi smiled as he handed him a ring with a magnet attached atop it.

"Wow. It reminds me of the _One Ring_!" Nelaus whistled in surprise.

"Nice move. But I've got this!" Meiru blinked Arushi an eye.

"Wow. Fingerless gloves… I look cool already." Nelaus muttered.

"Tee, heh, heh." Roll giggled.

"My turn… This fund helps keep bottles cool when outside of the fridge: it's useful!" Tooru told Nelaus.

"We're specialists is keeping things cold, desu!" Ice Man giggled.

"Eh… I hope you like it, Nelaus – kun." Eboshi gulped as he gave him a red bowtie.

"Thank you…" Nelaus thanked.

"Hey! Don't forget me: this is for ya!" Charles announced.

"Whoa. Justice Bomb!" Nelaus whistled in surprise.

"Bomb 'em all!" Davis joked.

"W-whoa! De masu! Golden Edition Battle Chips…? De masu…?" Higure looked taken in.

"No. Normal Battle Chips re-colored Golden and re-coded to have a 25% extra damage compared to the normal ones: that's what these are, Higure – san... And we'd already told you PLENTY of times!" Charles corrected.

"Not bad, de masu! It'd bring about a surprise to the confident know-it-all Net Battler, de masu! They should repeat the N1 Grand Prix, de masu, and I'd for presenter along with Midorikawa – san, de masu! I should've gotten the Pulitzer, de masu!" Higure laughed.

"Ya should have gotten hit by a fresh tuna." Yaito giggled.

"Wha! Horrible, de masu!" Higure protested.

"My turn, I'd say! Here." Martin was barely holding his laughter back.

"Cool! Cutting Hat! You made this Battle Chip yourself, Martin?" Nelaus asked.

"Yeah. It's a new trick Lander came up with." Martin admitted.

"Gotta admit, though… I ripped it off _Goldfinger_… That Oodjob guy had that deadly hat!" Lander laughed.

"Hah! Dekao – sama felt considerate today: ya get this!" Dekao laughed and showed off.

"Guts Hammer, eh? It could come in handy." Nelaus looked amused.

"Guts, guts! Guts 'em all!" Guts Man exclaimed.

"Including your own hide!" Isaac laughed.

"I'd say my turn came. _Check it out_!" Omega grinned.

"Whoa. Plasma Gun!" Isaac whistled in surprise.

"This will become that Balrog guy's worst nightmare!" Nelaus joked.

"I'm good at this, too." Enzan grinned.

"As Enzan – sama said…" Blues teased.

"Iai Form: it'll do good to force the enemy into close-quarters!" Isaac looked amused by now.

"Oi. Don't steal my climax." Laika joked.

"Laika – sama's climax is _climatic_." Search Man made a pun.

"Paint Bullet: ideal to blind an opponent. My. I could fill that Balrog guy with _graffiti_, even!" Isaac rubbed his hands in excitement.

"Oi, oi… Don't try to copy Koopa Jr.!" Nelaus laughed.

"Excuse me: I think I'm being forgotten about." Vadous announced with a hint of irony.

"Heh, heh!" Yaito giggled.

"Here: make good use of it!" Vadous blinked him an eye.

"Whoa! A new-gen "Synchro Chip"…! Cool…! Now I can be at your same level, Hikari Jr.!" Nelaus challenged.

"We'll try it out someday!" Netto grinned.

"Hyperactive guys…" Saito giggled.

"I'm glad to see you've had a good party, Nelaus." A man announced.

He looked on his late fifties or early sixties.

He had grayish hair and brown eyes irises.

He sported a black suit, necktie, pants and brown shoes.

"U-Uncle Xavier!" Nelaus gasped.

"Did you really think I'd miss my nephew's birthday party?" Xavier asked with a smile.

"N-not really, sir, but… It slipped me, sir…" Nelaus apologized.

"A little _souvenir_ from Chicago: and it's for you."

"Wow. A miniature Willis Tower…! I should really go back to visit Chicago one of these days." Nelaus whistled in surprise.

"Ring me up and I'll take care of everything."

"Wow… Everyone! Thank you for everything!"

"Congratulations!" Everyone clapped.

Nelaus nodded in thanks and was trying to hold back his tears again: he blew his nose with a handkerchief while the party kept on: he momentarily abandoned his seat and sat next to Vadous.

"Eh… Excuse me… Mr. Vadous…" He called out.

"What's up?" Vadous asked.

"… Could I later have a talk with you in the HQ, sir? There's something which I feel like I should speak about with you, sir…" Nelaus politely asked.

"… Ah. I can imagine what you mean. Deal. Truth is: we should've had that talk time ago, but… I was always forgetting about it."

"Eh… Please don't feel guilty for it, sir…" Nelaus requested.

"You're right. Well then… 18:00 PM would be a good hour?"

"It is, sir. Thank you very much, sir." Nelaus thanked.

"You're welcome."

They didn't spot Arushi, who was seemingly looking for something in the grass: he had an amused sneaky grin on his face.

_My, my. This is getting interesting again. I did some research and I've begun to build up a thesis regarding your true colors, Nelaus – kun… Heh, heh, heh… Priest – sama will be amused, if I daresay. In the meanwhile, though… Enjoy this party!_

He chuckled under his breath while Nelaus talked with twins and exchanged jokes: Aura suddenly tapped his right shoulder from behind and signaled for him to come with her to a spot right underneath the tree-house.

"And I gotta say we need some new thrills, Nelaus – kun." Aura began telling him.

"Like what? A roller coaster?" Nelaus tried to guess.

"Yep. That's what I meant."

"If it's a roller coaster then I don't trouble with that."

"Good. And one day let's go to a disco too."

"As long as we be… decent, then…"

"You better not be trying to pull some loophole, Aura – chan." Felicia looked slightly suspicious at her mood.

"Well. Who knows?"

"Trouble." Isaac grimly muttered.

"Yeah. When Aura – chan gets in those moods… Don't try to bring up the stuff you heard about in the all-girls' academy! It's no joke!"

"Sure, sure. Ms. Prefect Of Perfection."

"I give up."

"No wonder." Isaac sighed.

"Oh boy." Nelaus rolled his eyes.

"Tee, heh, heh, heh. Let's have fun, Nelaus – ku~n…"

"Somebody help me out…" He groaned.

18:29 PM (Melbourne Time)…

"… Heh! As expected of Miss Ayanokouji… Throwing a grand party…"

"Wow. That's some manor."

"No wonder. Gabcom Inc. is a powerful enterprise."

"OH YEAH! LET ZA GABCOM HIT ZA IPC!"

"Huff."

"Cloud Man! Go get lost!"

"R-roger, sir!"

Twilight and Philip had been seemingly spying on the party using some kind of aerial mobile camera: the party had winded down and the staff plus the guests were starting to cleanse and dismantle everything: Sigma could be seen laughing at something but no one else laughed.

"…the Hysterically Flying Crying Ducking Army~!"

"WHAT was THAT?" Philip groaned.

"Oh my." Twilight looked amused.

"Is that that Vincent guy too~?" He exasperatedly asked.

"Guess that."

"Huff." Freeze Man didn't think it was funny.

"Really…" Cosmo Man sighed.

"What a fool." Yamato Man grumbled.

"Totally! It's totally lame." Swallow Man slapped his forehead.

"Damn it." Zoan Gate Man howled.

"Even the guys are down."

"Huff. Guess I shouldn't play amused or it'll shot back at me."

"Guess that, Master."

"By the way… What did you think?"

"Of what? That the leader of "Rama" was a guy about my age? No surprise: if Shirakami and Forte could lead the Darkloids 4 years ago as you told me then… And that fellow Kuroshiro built his own Darkloids 2 years ago as well… And that other fellow named Sidier which put up that show over a year and a half ago…"

"Heh, heh, heh. Good, good. It reminds me of Mitos Yggdrasil."

"I know. The guy in _Tales of Symphonia_ who could switch between his child form and his adult form…"

"Oh! True, true. Speaking of _Star Wars_… _Legacy 34: Tatooine Part 1_ came out a few days ago… Tatoooine… The fated planet… Heh."

"I know. I already read it. This _Legacy_ saga is interesting."

"Heh, heh, heh. Well. Let's see what'll happen in the years to come but we've come pretty far insofar. And now…"

"Yeah? What comes next?"

"Yo and behold! Ms. Smith wants Her Grace's make-up back!"

"Where'd you get that from?"

"_Mighty Ducks_… "Fantastic, Phil… By the way, Mr. Smith called… And he wants his lasers BACK!"… Or so I think it was… Episode 1 or 2…"

"Huh. Yeah. I think it was like that. I'm surprised that inspector was so thin despite having so much fast food on the office… But Phil could get to know what a "diet" meant, really… Not like I'd tell Grin… He's got body mass, not body fats after all…"

"Element, my dear Watson."

"Master… Please save up your sarcasm and let's prepare some side-show for the days to come…"

"Delighted and delicious shall greet the hungry traveler at the inn."

"I give up. Master can have such weird moods, really… Oh boy…"


	19. Chapter 19: Terror and fear

**Chapter 19: Terror and fear**

10:44 AM (Japan Time), Saturday July the 2nd…

"… Guess I'm being lazy this morning… Is there any handsome young boy we could tease today, Witch?"

"There is, Ilia – chan: a 5th grader."

"Lovely."

Prophetess, dressed in a purple night gown, stepped into a living room somewhere and sat down in a chair placed in front of an open and running Sony VAIO laptop: a chat window was being run and Witch was projecting out of the connected Link PET with a broad grin on her face.

"Did you get his data?" Prophetess asked.

"But of course: I only had to dissect his IPv4 packages to find out the origin MAC and IP addresses. I then checked his ISP and found the exact real-world location and name, too. I got a photo, too. Have a look." Witch detailed with a broad grin.

"Hmmm… Brown chestnut hair… Blue eyes… Looks like we got a nice one to tease: we'll take him along for a thrill… Tee, heh, heh. Everyone believes I bluff at the S&M sadist announcements, so… Let them believe that: it makes me look less dangerous than I, Kazuhira Ilia, am." She giggled aloud.

She began to type into the text box and sent the following message:

"I'm a 6th grader in Yamagata Prefecture. Where are you from, my shining knight of the round table?"

A reply soon arrived and she rubbed her hands in excitement.

"I am from Yamagata Prefecture, too! I live in Murayama City."

"What a coincidence! I also live in Murayama City: 3rd district."

"Mine is 2nd."

"We live nearby, then! What's your institute's name?"

"Peace Elementary School."

"Takazaka Elementary School."

"Could we meet in person, P_22?"

"Sure, Rokketo · Sen. When and where would be fine?"

"Today at 17:00 PM, in the Country Gardens, would be fine."

"That's a bit far from my house and I don't like going out for long. My high-school cousin owns a bike: she'll pick you up there and bring you to my house: it'll be better. Deal?"

"Cool! Deal. How will I recognize her?"

"She wears a leather suit for riding in bike. Just make gestures to her and say you're the one I sent to pick up."

"Perfect, then! Meet you later."

"Later."

Kazuhira closed the chat and giggled aloud.

"17:00 PM, Yamagata Prefecture, Murayama… The Country Gardens… Target: Kinmori Mihiro. Tee, heh, heh… This afternoon will be very fun, I daresay! And since I'm off-duty then Priest – sama doesn't need to know anything about this, either." She muttered.

"Yeah. We're geniuses, Ilia – chan!" Witch giggled.

"Plenty of time to get there by using the expressway… Alternatively… We could borrow a "Dimensional Converter". Tee, heh, heh. I'll go ready the equipment: make sure to erase all logs and data to leave no traces. Employ the disguise system in case the Net Saviors are patrolling: that fake ID isn't worth a second look, so…" Ilia commanded.

"Roger." Witch looked lustful.

"I missed this kind of play. Tee, heh, heh." She giggled again.

She headed out into the balcony and giggled under her breath…

11:04 AM (Japan Time)…

"… O. K. I got the Battle Chips I needed. Thanks for everything, Number Man!"

"Don't mind it, Rock Man and Blood."

Rock Man and Blood Shadow had been buying Battle Chips in the Internet City Higureya store: Number Man shrugged.

"Aha – hah!" Five voices rang out.

"Crap." Rock Man cursed.

"No way…" Blood Shadow groaned.

"Who…?" Number Man wondered.

"Cut Man Brothers!"

The five of them had appeared inside of the store and Jiiro purposely hit a switch to the right: the shutter lowered and locked the store down.

"Hah! We put a bomb on the staff door, too! There's no escape! Strategy: Trap! Phase 1: Complete! Phase 2: Start!" Jiiro exclaimed.

"Cut Man Brothers!"

"Get any closer and I'll blow you guys up with this thing." Blood Shadow icily warned as he aimed his shotgun at them.

"Uoh! Jiiro – niichan! That gun is real!" Saburo gasped.

"Crap." Shiro muttered.

"Trouble: it's 3 VS 5!" Goro gasped.

"Maybe…" Rokuro began.

"We've come so far and we're not gonna get intimidated! Make those two stay busy: Rock Man can't do anything sans an Operator!" Jiiro commanded.

"Wrong." Rock Man replied.

Streaks of crimson lighting emerged from his chest emblem and his Omega Soul formed over his body: he drew the O – Saber and the five of them gasped in horror.

"This "Soul Unison" is directly implemented into my body: I can activate it whenever I want to! So? What happened to the earlier confidence? You ran outta it?" Rock Man challenged.

"Grah! Surprise Choppi'n!"

"Hra~h!"

Rock Man jumped into the air while aiming his sword towards the ceiling and then dropped down to kick Jiiro on the face: he stored the O – Saber and grabbed both Saburo and Shiro to make them hit each other and threw them against Goro and Rokuro.

"H-he's not even using a weapon!" Jiiro gasped.

"For the last time! Your brother was about to commit manslaughter! I had no other choice!" Rock Man groaned.

"You _tsujigiri_~!" Jiiro growled.

"Ask the elder already: he knows it all! You guys are wasting your time and I don't have a reason to fight you guys! And I'm a Net Savior, after all! Now go and get outta here!" Rock Man shouted.

"Niicha~n! Let's get outta 'ere~!" The other four pleaded.

"Che. Cowards…! Cut Man Brothers: Retreat!"

They broke through the shutter and ran off: the three of them sighed in relief and Rock Man cancelled the Omega Soul.

"What stubborn guys! I'm getting fed up with them. I wish we could open one of those Time Space gateways and throw them inside like Twilight did with Shade Man and Bubble Man one year ago." Rock Man grumbled.

"Yeah. I'm into the idea, too. Anyway… Sorry for the mess, Number Man"

"Don't be concerned: good-bye." Number Man replied.

The two of them walked out into the street and found Shadow Man leaning his back against the wall of a nearby building: he discreetly signaled the alleyway with his right hand's two index and center fingers while lifting the right eyebrow.

"Mwroh, hoh, hoh, ho~h! Welcome to the unending terror of Minas Morgul: his Grace, the Great Witch-King of Angmar is waiting for you lowlifes! Come if you have the courage!" A familiar voice rang out.

"W-who's this guy?" Saburo asked.

"D-dunno!" Rokuro gasped.

"Scary~!" Shiro yelled.

"L-let's run!" Goro rallied.

"You're in league with that guy, aren't you?" Jiiro questioned.

"Who do ya mean?" The voice asked.

"Rock Man, I mean!" Jiiro growled.

"No! Rock Man is my companion's target! I'm just looking to kill the boredom until I get new orders… Maybe _Cut Man Brothers a la Mount Doom_ would make for a nice dish, even!" The voice laughed.

"Kya~h!"

The five of them ran out while looking panicked and were soon out of sight: Balrog came out next and didn't notice them because he was looking in the direction the Cut Man Brothers had fled.

"You're - Balrog!" Rock Man exclaimed.

"What? Rock Man! Shadow Man! Blood Shadow! The Sneaky Trio makes its debut, it'd seem!" He laughed.

"I'm the one who's sneaky, you _Naraku_ servant." Shadow Man dryly told him without even lifting an eyebrow.

"Good one! But I'd say you're too cold 'cause of the AC: I'll make sure to heat you up one day!" He laughed.

"You lowlife. What are you plotting?" Shadow Man demanded.

"Dunno! Don't have any orders yet… Oho. _Aibou_ is waiting for me. Tell Isaac to come at me anytime! Farewell!" He laughed.

He flew skywards at a mad speed and logged out: the three of them sighed in relief.

"Man. What a morning! I wanna go and take this bad mood out somehow… I really need a VR right now." Rock Man grumbled.

"Hum. I'll be hunting for those neophytes. Later." Shadow Man announced with a hint of amusement.

"Neophytes… Really…" Blood grumbled.

"Let's go." Netto sighed.

"Heh! I'll send 'em flying to Alaska with one swing!" Sigma joked.

Blood Shadow and Rock Man reached the firewall securing access to the Hikari house computer and headed for the gateway labelled "TCP/IP: PORT 80": they were scanned and allowed through it into the Cyber World.

"OK."

Sigma was busy doing something with Photoshop so Rock Man stepped into the gateway labeled "NETTO's PET": he became data and reappeared inside of its familiar environment.

"Yo! Netto – kun. Give me a hand and Plug me into the _cyborg body_, please!" He called out.

"Roger that."

Netto picked the PET and headed towards Saito's sleeping body on top of his own bed: he carefully opened the right eye and aimed the IR port towards it.

"Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"

"O. K. Let's get that _Mario Kart Wii _showdown on the road. I won't lose so easily!" He grinned.

11:15 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Yo! Axe Man. Fancy meetin' ya 'ere, in Oosaka. What's up?"

"Has Annihilator Man – sama contacted you in the last two days?"

"Eh… Well, no, but… Hey. He sometimes took like five days to give us a job, mind ya… Ya look impatient."

"True. I am."

Destruction Man and Axe Man were talking inside of a Cyber World decorated with holographic stands of motorbikes and bike racer portraits.

"I'd rather say ya go and do somethin' on your own… I don't think Annihilator Man – sama will mind it…" Destruction Man ventured.

"Hmmm… Maybe that will do. I'll go speak with Present – sama. See you around." He muttered.

"Behead 'em all." Destruction Man encouraged.

"Sure thing." Axe Man made a sinister smile.

"Tell Present to go to the mountain for some days, too! The air in the city must be too stressful for 'im." Future added.

"Good. Farewell."

Axe Man came out of the store while Destruction Man resumed looking at one bike's information screen.

"Cool babe… If you change and tweak one or two things, ya can get it to beat anythin' on a street battle even on rain!" Destruction Man muttered with a hint of amusement.

"Sure thin', man… Finish reading the data and I'll work on the recreation over 'ere… Heh, heh, heh." Future chuckled.

"Roger, Boss!" He joked.

"Go, Pilot!" Future joked next.

Both chuckled under their breaths…

11:33 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Utsuki Shingen – sensei? Are you alright?"

"Huh? Ah… Yeah. Sorry. I dozed off."

Present lifted his head from a desk filled with documents and folders.

He'd taken out the bike helmet thus revealing short blond hair cut in a military-like style as well as brown eye irises.

He looked on his thirties.

He was wearing a white shirt, a black necktie and pants as well as brown shoes.

The room looked like a teacher's room somewhere.

Another teacher was looking towards him as he stood on the edge of the desk: he had a concerned look to him.

"Are you alright? You look like you didn't sleep much."

"Ah… True, Einou – sensei… I'm almost done with the correcting of these "last chance" exams but I have trouble sleeping as of late…"

"I suspect too many days in the campus at this time of the year takes a toll on everyone. Maybe you could take some days off and go disconnect at Gunma or Chiba?" Einou suggested.

"Good idea… I really need some days to disconnect from the yearly June stress. Being the European History teacher is no easy job."

"Of course it isn't. You work too much sometimes, Utsuki – sensei. Just take some days off and you'll feel like tackling a hundred exams once you come back." Einou smiled at him.

"Heh… That'd be a record for me." Utsuki made a weak smile.

Einou exited the room while Utsuki lazily stood up and walked over to a water fountain: he filled a plastic cup and then slowly drank it up

"Good. Just another four left… This shouldn't take too long."

16:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Witch. Is everything ready at both fronts #1 and #2? It's almost the rendezvous time."

"All's ready: we can pull it off in a totally neat manner, Ilia – chan."

Kazuhira was riding on her motorbike and stationed near the Country Gardens and was using a mike and headphone inside of the helmet to talk with her Navi.

"Good. This afternoon will be thrilling. I'm cutting contact: expect me to be there in less than 30 minutes." Kazuhira replied.

"Roger!"

Kazuhira moved near the Gardens' entrance and spotted a young boy around ten or eleven years old: he had brown hair and eye irises.

He wore a navy blue cap, a buttoned shirt with red and green stripes, jeans, white socks and sneakers.

He was continuously looking around.

_Target: spotted. Heh, heh, heh._

"Rokketo · Sen?" Kazuhira called out.

"Ah! Are you P_22 – san's cousin? Miss?" The boy asked.

"Yeah. Esperanza. My cousin Francesca is waiting for you, _handsome_." She blew him a teasing kiss.

The boy turned deep red and looked elsewhere.

_Honest type! Gotta be his first time… No doubt: the type we'd been looking for! Tee, heh, heh. _

"Ah! I'm… Mihiko. Kinmori Mihiko…" The boy introduced himself.

"Pleased. Take this."

She tossed him a motorbike helmet and he put it on as he slowly climbed into the bike and used the rear metal bar to grip as Kazuhira drove out…

17:29 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Here! 3rd floor, 2nd apartment. I'm off to taking care of some stuff. Nice meetin' cha, Kinmori – kun. Beware of Cousin Francesca: she has many aces up her sleeves!" Kazuhira told him.

"Ah… I s-see… Thank you very much." Kinmori timidly replied.

Kazuhira ran off but parked the bike nearby: she then climbed down and ran into a small _cul-de-sac_ alley: a metallic door was set on the right side of it.

"OK!"

She took out a key and unlocked it to come inside of what looked like the hall, which was totally unfurnished: the walls were bare concrete and so were the ground and ceiling.

"Tee, heh, heh."

She did spot a stained and rugged cheap carpet set on the ground: she rolled it up to reveal a wooden trapdoor which she opened.

"Tee, heh, heh. Let's check how much stuff we gathered." She muttered with a hint of amusement.

She began to climb down the stairs while giggling under her breath and rubbing her hands in excitement: she soon reached the end and unlocked a modern-looking door by using two different keys: the door silently moved inwards to reveal a largely unlit basement room.

"Let's see… Let's use electrical light for now and when the time comes we'll use candles…" She decided.

She turned on a switch to reveal a black wheeled suitcase set on the ground next to a shape covered by a black cloth: a tripod-mounted video camera had also been prepared as well as two speakers set at some distance from each other and connected to a CD player.

"Perfect." She muttered.

_Tonight's "ritual" will be one to be remembered. My. Truly. Tee, heh, heh!_

17:38 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So you're Kinmori – kun! I'm Furugawa Francesca."

"I'm g-glad to have met you, Furugawa – san…"

"Go ahead and use 'chan': we're of the same age, more or less."

"Sorry… You looked so grown up…"

Witch (sporting camouflage-colors jeans, white socks, and a white blouse along with reading glasses and slippers) was sitting in one sofa in a living room and talking with Kinmori: she'd also dyed her hair brown and was using brown contacts.

"It's j-just that… It's my first time being invited by a girl… No offense, really, but… I feel so nervous…!" Kinmori scratched the back of his head.

"Tee, heh, heh! So? What are you hobbies?" She asked.

"Well… I read a lot, really… I'm into the fantasy tales… I read the _Spider's Thread_ time ago… And other similar tales..." He admitted.

"I myself am into the world of drawing: I can come up with quite good pictures and I'm sure I'll even become a recognized painter." She replied with a smile.

"Whoa. That's cool, Furugawa – chan…" He whistled in surprise.

_Heh, heh, heh. This one is totally naïve and innocent: it'll be lovely to see how he ends up like after the "ritual"… _

"Thank you, Kinmori – kun: I always get fueled up with new ideas! I've still a long path to trek but I'm confident on my abilities." She giggled.

"That's what makes people progress: confidence on themselves and always looking forward." Kinmori smiled.

"True, true! And something tells me we will get to be good friends, Kinmori – kun!"

_Tee, heh, heh… Let's keep on chatting for another little while before Part 2 kicks in…! Tee, heh, heh!_

18:10 PM (Japan Time)…

"… See you!"

"Goodbye!"

Kinmori exited the apartment and headed out into the street: he began to walk towards the south as he passed in front of the _cul-de-sac_ alley: he suddenly noticed how he hit something with the right foot and crouched to see a wallet on the ground.

"A wallet…? Let's check it out: I might be able to find its owner and return it…" He muttered.

He crouched to pick it up, but, suddenly, a figure jumped on him from behind some garbage bins and pressed a cotton handkerchief into his mouth while gripping his right wrist from behind and forcibly turning it around: Kinmori let go of the wallet while he struggled to break free: however, his attacker was clearly stronger than him and he began to look sleepy.

_W-what's… going… on…?_

He suddenly lost consciousness and the figure dragged him towards the alley's door by placing both arms beneath the armpits: they closed the door from the inside and then dragged him into the basement room: they left him on the floor and headed over to the candles to light them up using a lighter: they gave the room a creepy feeling altogether.

_Let's get everything ready… Witch should be on her way here to help me with the preparations._

In effect: Witch came in and closed the door while locking it with both keys: she then changed her clothes for her usual Navi bodysuit and made her eye color return to normal: a sinister smile formed on her face and she nodded in understanding.

_Good. This is a critical point: we must go quickly and efficiently to set everything up: we don't want to linger around this city for too much, after all… We'll be gone right after finishing cleansing…_

18:50 PM (Japan Time)…

_Huh…? What happened to me…?_

Kinmori slowly regained consciousness and looked around: all was black around him.

He began to realize that his body was being made to sit on a sharp thin metallic-like surface and that his forearms had something locking them together as well as being placed beneath him.

He also could feel what seemed to be leather bands around his body: a thin one with a small metallic ring was set on his neck.

There were another two interconnected bands of adjustable bands which passed over his shoulders, ran down his sides and circled around his ankles, almost scratching his member.

A small circle had been set on the base of his cock with three bands circling around the whole of his sack.

His eyes were covered by what felt like a wool blindfold and he also noticed a band around his jaw with something round blocking his mouth off.

_W-what? What's going on…?_

He tried to move but noticed that his ankles were connected by a rigid black steel bar with cuffs on each end set beneath the metallic to limit how much he could stand.

Something of an irregular shape with some spots to it had been shoved up his insides and he had something set on his cock's urethra, too.

Two ropes had been tied above and below his nipples and immobilizing his arms to force them to be behind his body: he now realized he was sitting on top of a triangular metallic object with legs to support it.

_W-what in the world is this…? I can't move, see or shout! Someone kidnapped me and did things to my body!_

"… Finish up the preparations for the ritual…" A hushed voice rang out.

"Roger." Another replied.

"We must be punctual: the ritual must be over by 8:00 PM, the hour of sunset! It's rule number 3!" A third voice hurried.

"We knew that." A fourth replied with a hint of annoyance.

Kinmori suddenly felt ice cubes being rubbed against his nipples: they turned hard and something was attached to them: they felt like clothes pegs: the right one was facing forward while the left one was placed horizontally.

_It hurts! It hurts! Take these off my nipples!_

He suddenly felt a hand gripping his balls hard and how someone began attaching more clothes pegs to them: a second person attached something to his right hip and wrapped in on cello tape to keep it strapped to it.

_Huh? What next?_

Four small plastic-shaped objects were set above each cloth peg and on his armpits: a similar object was strapped to his left hip and two more capsule-shaped things were attached to his cock's head: some low-tuned chanting began to ring out along with what sounded like an organ on the background.

"All preparations for the ritual are completed… 18:58 PM. We must begin the 19:00 PM oration." Someone announced.

"Evil God: thou who slumber in the Afterworld! Hear our pleas: we mortals cannot fulfill our role in this world sans thee guidance! We shall offer young flesh as sacrifices for thou complete resurrection! We Evil Tribe live for that reason! Once the sun sets this flesh shall be offered to thou and will travel to the Afterworld: thee grace will feed on the flesh and gain power until thou are resurrected on this world and guide us towards thou vision of this world!" Five or six voices chanted in unison.

_W-what! Sacrifice, they say! Young flesh…! No…! No way…! They want to kill me…? I'm just 11! I can't die yet! Please! _

"Our ritual shall rob this flesh of will, personality and consciousness to be just living flesh to be offered! Its blood will feed thou ever-evolving body and thou shall gain a noble form capable of imposing thee rule over this worthless world! Life! Death! Beyond the world: the Evil God awaits tonight's sacrifice!" The chants became louder.

_Rob me of will, personality and consciousness…? But that's impossible: you can't "rob" something immaterial!_

"Prayer is over: begin." One of the voices commanded.

"Roger!"

"Phase 1: Phase 2 will follow 60 seconds later. Phase 3 must start exactly 120 seconds after Phase 1. Phase 4 comes 180 seconds after Phase 1. Phase 5 is 240 seconds. Phase 6 is 300 seconds. Phase 7 is 360 seconds. Remember the timing: bring out the military chronometers."

There was a small sound and Kinmori suddenly felt whatever was stuffed into his insides vibrating and moving: he gasped and tried to lift up: however, the devices on his hips made him unable to fully articulate them and he couldn't complete the maneuver.

_T-this thing inside of me is vibrating…! What in the world is this…?_

"30 seconds elapsed: prepare to start Phase 2." The lead voice dryly ordered.

"Roger."

Kinmori tried to lean forward and lower his upper body as if trying to get free of the object: he suddenly felt a punch on his stomach area: he groaned and stopped his movement.

"10 seconds to Phase 2: you won't be struggling for much longer, foolish being." The lead voice announced.

_What foolish being! I'm not a fool!_

"Phase 2: begin."

"Roger."

Someone interacted with the devices attached to his hips and the capsule-shaped objects over his nipples and under his armpits began to vibrate, too: his cock suddenly started to get hard and a blush of red crossed his face upon realization.

_M-my penis is getting hard…! I'm going to pee…? It'd be embarrassing to me…! What's going on…? These vibrations… They make me lose will to fight back… they're… making me feel strange… But… Who are these people…? Why is this happening to me?_

"15 seconds to Phase 3: you will soon beg for us to slain you right now but that would be pointless." The lead voice icily told him.

_W-what! That voice… it crawls into each corner of my body…! I feel like I was freezing in the midst of the summer…!_

"Phase 3: begin."

The two objects on his cock's head began to vibrate next: his cock convulsed in a violent manner but was unable to release because of the plug: Kinmori began to moan and agitate.

_M-my penis…! They plugged it…? I can't make it come out now…! I'm building up pressure…! This strain…! This pain…! Please make it stop…! I can't take it in anymore…!_

"20 seconds to Phase 4: your pain will increase and you will be tainted by our evil: thus becoming a suitable sacrifice to the Evil God." The lead voice eagerly announced.

_N-no…! I won't be turned into a "sacrifice"…! No…!_

"Phase 4: do it, _Comrade_."

"Roger."

Someone climbed into the triangular object and Kinmori felt an object of the same material, width, length and thickness being forced up his insides thus tearing them open: two hands grabbed his nipples' clothes pegs and slowly pulled them while the object inside of him pumped in and out: Kinmori convulsed in pain.

_Someone is making something enter me…! Don't pull those clothes pegs on my nipples…! Pain…! Pain…! Pain..! There's only pain…!_

"Stop in 15 seconds, _comrade_." The lead voice commanded.

The pumping became more intense and suddenly stopped: the object was taken out and the person climbed out: Kinmori kept on struggling and trying to break free but to no avail.

_No more…! No more!_

"Phase 5: experience slow and total agony while your mind begins to shatter." The lead voice eagerly announced.

Some bead-shaped objects set on a string were slowly stuffed half-way up his insides: his inner muscles' own convulsions began to make them be slowly sucked inside: Kinmori's convulsions worsened, too.

_They're forcing me to suck these beads inside of me…! _

"First half of Phase 5: execute second half."

The ring at the end of the beads' string was placed on his cock's head just where the foreskin was collected at: Kinmori's movements began to slowly pull the beads outside of his body and he was seemingly starting to get exhausted.

_It hasn't even been 5 minutes and I already feel like… my mind is… going to shatter…! _

He ended up pulling all of them out and someone removed the ring from his cock's head.

"Phase 6: we are nearing the climax."

What was covering his mouth was taken out to be replaced by a metallic ring which forced him to keep his mouth open and unable to close it up: that irregular object was placed inside of his mouth and a hand closed around his head from behind thus forcing him to move at a constant rhythmic and take more of the object inside: it was coated in a strange liquid.

_It feels slightly salty but… It's giving me a weird sensation… Agh… My body…! My mind…! Please stop…! I'll do anything! Anything!_

The object was taken out and his mouth was muffle with the plastic hole-filled spheroid again.

"Phase 7: bring ultimate pain to this flesh so that it pushes the mind to the very limit. Once it's destroyed keep the body like this until 7:57 PM: then execute it and the Afterworld Gate shall open for the Evil God – sama to claim it." The lead voice announced.

_Is this it…? My life is going… to end here…? 11 years… And today I thought I'd met a new friend and it was a nice day… _

Some tears began to slide down his cheeks but no-one seemed to notice them.

"Phase 7: go."

Kinmori felt a hot liquid splashing his body in several parts of it: he yelled in agony but his voice wouldn't come out.

"The heat of these candles will bring you ultimate pain: and along with the flames, your consciousness will disappear and you will be like a comatose body: alive yet not conscious of itself. Farewell, child." The voice dryly announced.

_I knew it…! Damn it… It's the end…! My life…! Mother, Father…! My friends…! I'm so sorry… Please forgive me…! My last moments as Kinmori Mihiko…! Farewell, world…!_

"_The End_." The voice announced.

The plug on his cock was suddenly removed and it convulsed in a violent manner as something came out and stained his body: he yelled and quickly felt absolute blackness creeping closer: all suddenly became black and he remembered nothing else.

"… Tee, heh, heh. Lovely! He even cried. He believed it all!"

"Yeah. Let's clean up."

Witch and Kazuhira (both wearing their usual clothes) looked at the unconscious Kinmiro.

They began to turn off all vibrators and quickly removed the bar on his ankles to detach him from the metallic horse-like object.

They quickly removed everything they'd placed into him and tossed it inside of the open wheeled suitcase, including a black-colored 5cm silicon strap-on filled with spots.

"This video will give us a fortune." Kazuhira muttered.

"Truly."

"Heh, heh, heh. Well done!"

"Huh? Who?"

"Who's there?"

Twilight clapped as he calmly walked in while looking pretty amused: the "Talon" walked in at a respectful distance behind him and looked around with what could be either curiosity or lack of surprise.

"Name's Yoru. Dr. Yoru Yami."

"Neo Gospel's leader! Twilight!" She gasped.

"Relax. I came to suggest you Mistresses a place to go to. I need veterans like you two. IQ – sama gave her consent."

"Oho. We got the interest of Her Grace!" Witch eagerly exclaimed.

"Truly." Kazuhira giggled.

"Here's the address. Complete all preparations and head over there: this will prove that fool of _kyoudai_ that his "stability" plot is in vain because someone else will eventually rise and repeat the same…"

"The Court of Owls wants conflict. Let there be conflict."

"OK! Let's go to this new place. Time to kiss bye-bye to Rama. Tee, heh."

"Truly, Illia – chan. Time to become independent. Hah, hah, hah, hah!"


	20. Chapter 20: Consequences

**Chapter 20: Consequences**

21:33 PM (Japan Time), Saturday July the 1st…

… _Where am I…? Who am I…? I hear… a sound… I am breathing… but… my body feels like stone… even opening my eyes feels heavy… but… I need to see… I am alive, then…? _

"… Mihiko! Mihiko!" A woman's voice called out.

_Mihiko…? Ah! I am Kinmori Mihiko… And that voice… Mother…? _

Kinmori Mihiko slowly opened his eyes as he tried to adapt to the blurry environment and everything soon became clear: he was lying on a hospital bed and was breathing through an oxygen mask.

His mother, a woman on her late thirties with brown hair and blue eyes, was sitting on a chair next to the bed: she looked concerned.

"Mihiko…! Thank goodness…!" She exclaimed.

"Mother…? What happened…?" He slowly asked.

"That's what I'd like to know: I was unable to contact you and then I got a call from the hospital saying they'd found you near the staff entrance door: they identified you and told me to come over!" She told him.

"… Unh… What time is it?"

"21:37 PM! I became unable to call you ever since 18:00 PM, more or less, when you told me you were on your way back home and you'd be there in less than an hour's time!" She exclaimed.

"Weird… I can't remember what I did in such a long time… My mind feels foggy and my body feels heavy…" Mihiko muttered.

"It's not surprising: you've been through a horrific experience." A medic came inside: he looked on his thirties with brown hair and eye irises.

"Excuse me…?" Mihiko asked.

"We even had to administer you morphine to cancel your pain receptors for a while: else, that pain would've overwhelmed you."

"_Sensei_…! Do you know what happened to him?" His mother asked.

"Sadly enough… He was tortured and violated." He admitted.

"Kami – sama!" She gasped.

"Ah…! I remember…! But… I'm alive…? Did someone come to rescue me, or else…? That story about me being a "sacrifice"… It was all a setup to scare me…?" Mihiko wondered.

"What!" Both the medic and the lady gasped.

"There were… five, six of them… I think they were all ladies… but since they spoke so low, it was hard to catch up… I couldn't see, either, so… But it last about seven minutes… I can't remember anything else… I thought I was going to die there…" Mihiko grimly muttered.

"Sadly… While no-one has died from such things, some victims end up with their mindsets horribly traumatized and later have frequent depressions: it's very hard to stray them from suicide, even. I myself had to take care of several cases some years ago when a large group of criminals like those were rounded up: the ones who'd suffered most had spent close to five years being tortured each single day and were mere shells of their former selves…" The medic explained.

"… Kami – sama… Then I can't try to pity myself as a victim… Seven minutes once in my life… And yet others have suffered even more horrible things for whole years…!" Mihiko turned pale.

"I know it's shocking: but it's reality. Reality is cruel, but not much can be actually done about it." The medic sighed.

"… When will I be discharged?" Mihiko finally asked.

"Tomorrow morning will be fine … If anything were to happen, then please contact me: my specialty is psychological disorders: I want to help as much as possible in these things." The medic handed the lady a visitor's card.

"Thank you for everything, _sensei_." Both thanked.

"Please be strong." The medic encouraged.

21:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hello. It's been a while. Maybe you can give me a hand?"

The earlier medic was standing in front of the hospital and talking to someone using a cell phone.

"Please look up if you can find any sect which talks about an "Evil God", "sacrifices" and "rituals": maybe you will find lots of matches but try to narrow them down to Murayama and the last two or three weeks if you can… Yeah. You guessed correctly. A 5th grader boy: but he had a strong mind and after I talked about those cases over four years ago he was determined not to let it traumatize him…" The medic explained.

He waited as he chewed some gun and then frowned.

"… No matches? Zero? Have you tried the whole Yamagata Prefecture, too? Nothing, either? Hmmm… So it'd seem they aren't a real sect or else they just started today. But maybe they're just the run-of-the-mill teenager criminals who try to camouflage themselves by brandishing a cult-like speech…" The medic frowned.

He listened to something else and seemed to be thinking about it.

"So there doesn't necessarily have to be five or six of them… The voices could've been pre-recorded and synchronized. And given the victim's description of a collective prayer, then it makes sense… There could've been just one or two of them in the end… But how are we to identify them? They surely aren't from Yamagata Prefecture to begin with: I'd stake anything on it, Lartes - kun."

He sighed and distractedly glanced around the largely empty parking square.

"… We'll be in contact. But please try to look into it, Lartes – kun. We need to make sure we don't get a spree of victims: what happened four years ago was dramatic enough: we can't let it repeat no matter what. Goodbye, Lartes – kun." The medic grimly warned.

He pocketed the cell phone and made a grimace…

22:08 PM (Japan Time)…

"… WHAT?"

"Chut! Boss. Please lower your voice! Trill is sleeping."

"That's…!"

"Yeah. I know. Maria's leftovers strike back, sadly enough."

"Shit."

Vadous got in an obvious bad mood once Lartes relayed the news to him on the command bridge.

"I focus my eyes on Rama and this happens." He hissed.

"It's not like we're all-powerful to prevent it, Boss."

"I know! Maria must be laughing at us from the prison we locked her in: she surely had ample time to set this stuff up while being sheltered by Deadly Pandora one year ago. And Twilight could be involved: you know how we found the guy in a Melbourne club back in October. How did you get the news?" Vadous fumed and impatiently tapped the right armrest.

"A colleague from Murayama Central Hospital let me know: Ozou Tejiko – sensei. He took care of some of Maria's victims four years ago, too. It'd seem the perpetrators set it up to make it look they were a cult revering some "Evil God" which had to be resurrected by offering mindless people as sacrifices: a total rip-off from the fantasy games."

"And, of course, the victim believed that he was going to die. Don't we have any more clues?"

"The perpetrators might not be from Yamagata Prefecture: they could've come from elsewhere, too. It'd make tracing them hard."

"… Wait a minute! Wasn't there someone in Rama which Charles identified as a sadistic type?" Vadous frowned.

"According to Martin…The claim was to boast and make her look deadlier: but she is just a mercenary." Lartes replied.

"Maybe it wasn't, after all. Those two might be loose and they could be very well the culprits."

"So that's how it is… By the way, Dr. Regal just sent me some intriguing info… Anderson began living with his Edinburg aunt around four years ago, some months after their meeting. But he couldn't find a trace of what happened to his biological mother and stepfather… Until he looked in the criminal record…" Lartes began.

"They stole a store? What, they were like Jason Todd's parents?

"There aren't any details, but… The mother was sentenced under the charges of cooperating with a criminal, sheltering him and forgetting about her duties: the stepfather was apparently a criminal in the run who fooled widows so as to get married with them. But he wasn't the type who tried to suck their money off, either."

"If he didn't steal money… Why would he do that? Unless… Damn. I think I see why." Vadous cursed.

"… That man was a sadist who wanted to get close to young boys and abused of them, then…! And Anderson's mother was fooled into believing he loved her so she did nothing to stop him! No wonder they had to jail her, too… A _shotacon_…" Lartes icily muttered.

"Yeah. I'm sure it left him marked and got him obsessed with gaining power to be over the others…"

An explosion rang out somewhere and a loud siren was triggered: Vadous quickly turned the chair around and began to type into the keyboard.

"Attention: Code A. Repeat: Code A. Ship personnel: please report to the command bridge. Code A. Code A. Warning. Warning. Forced entry through Entrance#2." The auto-voice intoned.

"Entrance#2… Where was that again?" Vadous frowned.

"Hmmm… Wasn't it on the remains of Gospel's Virus Factory, beneath Internet City?" Lartes recalled.

"Crap. And Twilight used that place in October!" Vadous cursed.

"And I guess only one guy would have the guts to come here at such at an hour… I doubt Twilight. Zoan Gate Man must still remember the setup with Michelangelo's lil bro." Lartes lifted an eyebrow.

"Yeah. The big boss." Vadous grumbled.

He pressed the "RETURN" key and imagery of Annihilator Man stepping into a round square having a 3D hologram of the Earth set on the center of it came up onscreen.

"Omega! Go tell this non-noble Englishman that his manners are non-existent!" Vadous ordered through an interphone.

"Roger." Omega replied.

Annihilator Man walked up to the 3D globe and began to look at it as if he was searching for something.

"Idiot. My system's info is stored in RAID 5 HDD Drives… You won't find them there because it's designed so that it can only be entered through the real world… The Cyber World is just a nexus of communications and while you can run searches of data it's a read-only system! You won't find any data like that." Vadous grinned.

One the doorways directly north of the hologram unlocked and Omega raced out as it closed: he drew the O – Saber and jumped over the sphere to land inches from Annihilator Man's neck: he stepped back and looked nervous.

"You're Omega!" He hissed.

"Yeah. Where are your manners, Englishman?" Omega taunted.

"Che." He scoffed.

"I guess you wanna toss them into the recycle bin."

"Grjtx! Where is this place at?" Annihilator Man hissed.

"Our HQ."

"That's not the answer!"

"Need Not To Know."

"This guy…!" He cursed.

"Beat me." Omega challenged.

"Dark Sword, Light Sword!" He announced.

He drew two Long Swords: the right one was colored purple while the left one was colored white: he suddenly jumped towards Omega while aiming for his chest: Omega quickly drew his O – Saber and set it on horizontal position to block him off.

"So ya wanna brawl: maybe you won't be in the mood when you hear this out…" Omega turned serious.

"What?"

"Prophetess and Witch have done it." Omega summed up.

"Damn. So it wasn't a bluff!" Annihilator Man hissed.

"I'm not surprised you believed she was bluffing: Martin thought the same thing. In any case… I guess your master won't be pleased at all when he gets this news. I'd rather say he's going to fire those two like he did with that Ancient guy." Omega shrugged.

"Correct… Ones who dare to laugh at Priest – sama have no place in Rama: let the police do what they like with them! We won't move a finger about them!" Annihilator Man admitted.

"Good. Now that we've settled this… It's about to rain _clones_." Omega switched moods and began to form a grin.

"You copied that from the _Star Wars Episode 3_ novel: Kenobi tells that to Grievous just before the Clone Army deploys on Utapau." Annihilator Man looked unimpressed.

"Oho. You're well-documented, then. Did ya know something? There's a wine stain on your torso." Omega grinned.

"I won't fall for that." He drily replied.

"What a pity! Well then… Let's go!"

Omega suddenly jumped back and Annihilator Man lost balance since he'd been leaning forward: Omega ran towards him and kicked him on the jaw with the right foot to push him back: the opponent growled and charged up energy both swords.

"Light Sonic Boom! Dark Sonic Boom!"

Two Sonic Booms, colored white and purple, shot towards Omega: he calmly skid across the ground and jumped on top of Annihilator Man's shoulder-mounted cannons as he poked the middle finger of his right hand on his right eye: Annihilator Man howled and spun around in a fast manner: Omega was thrown off him and he gracefully landed on the ground: Annihilator Man growled and aimed the cannons at him.

"Black Mass! White Mass!" He growled.

He formed two spheres of purple and white energy and threw them at the bomb: the white ones caused for flames to show up while the purple ones froze the ground.

"What an odd mix! You could invent a cocktail!" Omega grinned.

"Che. He isn't even fighting seriously to begin with!" Annihilator Man growled.

"You better wish I don't: I could beat ya up a hundred times before sending ya to dance with Bright Man."

"Darkloid Bright Man was deleted!" He growled.

"It's a saying, _Danna_."

"Black Punch, White Punch!"

Annihilator Man cancelled the swords as his fists turned white and purple: he landed two hits on Omega which left a burning mark and some ice on both sides of his vest as well as pushing him back: Annihilator Man began to punch him at a mad speed and inflicting several wounds on a row: Omega kept on being pushed back and was seemingly overwhelmed.

"Hah!"

But Annihilator Man didn't see how the O – Saber began to glow with a red menacing tint: he continued his rain of punches to the upper body and the hips while grinning.

"How's that? Comeback?" He taunted.

"… Too late to regret… You've triggered my "Dark Messiah" mode… And you're over…" Omega icily replied.

He lifted his sight and revealed how his eyes had become blood red: he had a murderous expression to his face and his O – Saber's color had become blood red by now: Annihilator Man gasped and stepped back while looking nervous.

"Omega. Your mission isn't to delete the enemy." Vadous reminded him through the radio.

"Roger. I'll just force it to retreat." He calmly replied.

"Hey. Don't dismember the guy, either."

"Gotcha… Let's go~!"

He suddenly dashed forward while leaving "afterimages" on his wake: he swung the saber upwards in an ascending 45º angle from its original 90º position: he quickly aimed it downwards and made the left side of it open a vertical wound across Annihilator Man's chest: he didn't stop there and immediately plunged the saber into the upper torso before starting to jump into the air and roll upon his own axis to form wounds elsewhere: Omega also arched it 90º while standing on the ground to produce fin-shaped energy attacks which impacted Annihilator Man and built up additional damage: he finally stepped back while Annihilator Man growled and collapsed into his knees.

"I-impossible… In less than 2 minutes… I received over 2000 HP of damage out of my 4000 HP…! And I did inflict him 1800 HP, but he looks like it was nothing…!" He cursed.

"Omega. Cool it down. Breathe deeply." Vadous commanded.

Omega closed his eyes and did so: he inhaled and slowly exhaled before opening them again: they'd reverted to their usual cold blue and his O – Saber's color returned to normal as he switched it off and stored it on a sheath built upon his right hip.

"To keep on fighting under such circumstances would be suicidal… I better retreat!" He muttered.

He took out a flash-bang grenade and dropped it before he ran off through the door he'd destroyed and Omega grinned.

"He's like Grievous: adept at making cool escapes from a mess." He joked as he folded his arms.

"Now we have a better idea of his battle potential…" Vadous muttered.

"Uack!"

"You forgot to pay the toll."

Omega lifted his eyebrows upon hearing Annihilator Man yell and a familiar voice addressing him with obvious sarcasm.

"Zero! You lowlife!" Annihilator Man cursed.

"Yeah. Today is the swordsmen's night: we slice and dice like we used the Linux "cut" command." Zero sarcastically told him.

"You're in the way! Vanish!"

There was the sound of another flash-bang grenade detonating and Zero calmly walked in while chuckling.

"Yeah. Good idea, Zero. We should set a toll up." Omega joked.

"Sure. That guy went back with his wires cut off again: I guess he'll be totally ashamed of his hide. And he'll regret having turned you serious, too…" Zero chuckled.

"True. So? Did you find anything?" Omega asked.

"Not much regarding any clue to the IDs of the Rama guys… Can't you give me a little something to look up?" Zero sighed.

"I can. Here you have." Lartes replied.

A data cube appeared on the ground, so Zero picked it up and accessed its data to check it out.

"I see. Well… This shouldn't be too hard. I don't like looking into personal things, but since it could be a lead… It can't be helped. See ya."

"Good night."

Zero turned around and headed out while Omega pressed a button to the right of the broken entrance: an energy field colored purple covered it and he fumed.

"That guy managed to avoid security because he froze or burnt the circuitry over there… We should send the repair Navis over there. And we should do something about how we place our entrances, really. It'd seem we're becoming easier to find than a pin in a mass of straw."

"Yeah. Guess I'll be installing a camouflage system which will only deactivate upon accepting a password." Vadous sighed.

"Do as ya like. I'm off to my capsule: I need some rest to heal these wounds." Omega shrugged.

"Fine."

"Mr. Vadous…? What happened?"

Iris walked into the command bridge while looking nervous.

"Sorry for the alarm… Annihilator Man dropped by and we had to show him the way out." Vadous admitted.

"Oh. Trill was running up and down saying there was a party but I told him to go back to sleep plus I locked the door from the outside…"

"Please go back to sleep and I'll have solved this by the morning. It was no big deal."

"I understand. Good night."

"This is getting maddening! We gotta put some pressure there or else…!"


	21. Chapter 21: Pyramid

**Chapter 21: Pyramid**

07:35 AM, Sunday July the 2nd…

"… Whoa. How did this pop out of nowhere?"

"It'd seem it was camouflaged but its camouflage device malfunctioned thus revealing it."

"I see. But I doubt Rama building this thing."

"Yeah. I get that same vibe."

Rock Man, Omega, Blues and Search Man were standing in front of a large pyramid-shaped building somewhere in the Cyber World: the surroundings mirrored a desert and the pyramid looked worn down by the winds and time: it was over a hundred meters tall and had a clear entrance gateway built on the front face at ground level.

"Look at how worn out it looks… Whoever built it up was fond of realistic details." Rock Man signaled.

"Yeah. And it's almost saying "I'm a trap: come and tackle me"…"

"Traps are our specialty." Search Man calmly replied.

"Yeah. Let's find out who built this." Blues agreed on it.

"Maybe there's a cool Battle Chip, too." Netto grinned.

"Who knows?" Enzan shrugged.

"Vice President – sama does." Laika joked.

"Will you quit it, Laika?" Enzan grumbled.

"Dunno." Laika shrugged.

"Heh, heh! You two are like ice and flames." Netto joked.

"More like hammer and nail…" Omega grinned.

"OI!" Both protested.

Blues and Search Man were barely holding back their chuckles.

"Go!" Omega rallied.

They ran inside of the pyramid and found a small stone bridge crossing a deep abyss and ending in a square platform which had a round metallic object set on its surface.

There was a set of two metallic doors in front of them locked by three padlocks, a bridge leading over to a descending stone spiral stair at the left and an ascending stone spiral stair at the right: the ceiling was out of sight since it was unlit and so was the area beneath the platform.

"Lovely decoration: it's obvious they rang up Kheops' ghost to ask him how to furnish it." Omega sarcastically muttered.

"I'd rather say the Egyptologists." Rock Man calmly suggested.

"Ah. Sorry. Taboo word… Eh… Yeah. The Egyptologists surely told them about how to do the job."

"Should we split?" Blues suggested.

"Why not… Rock Man: you have both the Omega Soul and the other Soul Unisons, so… Even if Annihilator Man or Zoan Gate Man ambush you then it shouldn't pose too much of a problem. I'll pick the elevator platform, so… Search Man and Blues could check the ascending staircase. Hikari, Rock Man: the descending staircase is yours." Omega instructed.

"Roger. We meet here in 10 minutes time to check up."

Everyone split: Omega stepped into the platform and it floated upwards while Rock Man began to run down the descending stair which soon became engulfed in blackness.

"Some light would be appreciated, Netto – kun!" He called out.

"Eh… Let's see… Accessory Chip: Flashlight! Slot In!"

A flashlight materialized and Rock Man picked it up to illuminate his path as he descended: he soon lost count of the pass of time and stopped to sit down and shake off his dizziness: he rubbed his eyes and stretched as he tried to grasp the length of the staircase.

"You've been climbing down for 5 minutes… I guess we won't be able to meet the others in another 5 unless I could make you fly up to the ground floor…" Netto muttered.

"Oh. Just form the Giga Cannon and I'll put the muzzle on the ground to let the recoil push me upwards: I could always use my Jet Vernier: it was about time we installed that "Cross Fusion" function into Navis, too." He calmly replied.

Rock Man reached the end and found an open gateway: he crossed it and marched forward along a central stone corridor without walls and flanked by endless wide pits on both sides.

"Very wide rooms but the lighting is a disaster." He muttered with a hint of sarcasm.

He eventually reached a spot where a small stone slab about half a meter tall and twenty-five centimeters wide: it had nothing peculiar written on it but, about five meters further in, there was a stone table with a brown lance atop its body.

The lance's body was about a meter large and its end had a triangular metallic object set there: two small half-an-hexagon-shaped segments had been built half-way along its length and it was coated on what looked like dried blood.

"Yikes." Rock Man gasped.

He looked beyond it and gasped again: there was a large wooden cross set on the wall which had some dried blood stains on it as well: it contained restrains for both the forearms and the feet which even had sharp and thick needles on the inner band to plunge into the flesh.

"W-what's this place…? It looks like a room of rites, even…" He muttered.

"Yeah… Is there any key over there?" Netto asked.

Rock Man crouched and picked a vulgar padlock key from the ground: it looked rather new.

"Yeah… Let's go back."

"This is as far as you come, brat." A manly voice rang out.

"That voice…?"

Rock Man turned around as some purple flames formed out of nowhere and began to converge towards an energy spheroid pulsating with purple and white light.

"Huh? What's that?"

The flames began to turn black and turn into matter: a person's shape began to be drawn around the spheroid which was covered by the mass: blue-colored electricity formed out of nowhere and began to refine the black mass to give it color and detail.

"W-whoa…" Rock Man muttered.

"I have resurrected!" The voice exclaimed.

This newcomer's form design was highly reminiscent of Rock Man's one.

He wore a helmet with a mouth guard activated: his eyes' irises were visible and it could be seen that they were colored crimson red.

His chest emblem consisted on just two shades of black and white split by a horizontal grey line.

He had two curious shoulder pads which were shaped as two split halves of a diamond.

His main body's color was navy blue although the forearms and his boots were colored in purple.

A black smooth cape hung from the back of his shoulders and reached all the way to the floor as well as an add-on to his bodysuit.

"Hah, hah, hah. My followers brought upon sacrifices to resurrect my body: my consciousness remained intact and was able to take an electronic form: I hid in this base I'd prepared and they brought upon Navis which were strong enough and met the necessary qualifications to be offered as sacrifices in a slow and agonizing ritual of death. Mwah, hah, hah, hah…"

"… Rama… They know Twilight's alive and all and… They pull this Ganon imitation into us?" Rock Man fumed.

"However! I am missing one of the Eight Flames to become the Demon God which rules over Chaos… And I shall have it here and now!"

He signaled the entryway with his right hand's index finger and it suddenly collapsed thus blocking it off: his right forearm glowed and the lance jumped out its place to be gripped by him.

"Brat! Your Ultimate Program has what I need: the flame of "Light"! With it Chaos shall be complete and not even that Defective will be able to stand up to me. The Demon Ritual awaits you! Die slowly amongst utter pain and agony!"

"Huff. Ganon wannabe. Go back to the Beyond." Netto grumbled.

"Yeah. A Ganon wannabe sure is. Anyway… O – Program: Start!"

Rock Man transformed into the Omega Soul and quickly drew the O – Buster to charge it up and aim it at the imposter's lance.

"Hmpf. Bothersome Defective! Thought of everything… Whatever. A mere imitator can't rival the real one."

He aimed his open left palm at Rock Man and a blackish aura surrounded him: he was suddenly made to hover and turn around before being propelled across the air and hitting the wall behind him with his arms and legs spread open: those restrains closed around his left forearm, left boot and right boot and began to close around his right forearm, too: Rock Man made a grimace and managed to aim the O – Buster and shoot a sphere of plasma at the lance: the weapon atop it instantly melted and Fake Twilight looked at it with obvious disbelief.

"Impossible!" He cursed.

"This weapon emulates real plasma! Mere metal can't stand up to its high temperature and energy: anything which enters in contact with it is immediately vaporized!" Rock Man managed to grin as he aimed it towards his left forearm.

He shot at the restrains and melted them while he did the same with the boots' ones: he then tugged his right forearm and ripped the remaining restrains off the cross although they remained attached to his forearm: he ignored it and aimed the weapon at Fake Twilight: the guy had discarded the useless weapon and looked totally pissed off.

"Bothersome brat! Feel the pain!" He cursed.

He shot blue-colored electricity from his fingers at Rock Man but he merely kept on aiming the weapon and loading it up: all electricity traveled towards it and the consequent plasma sphere was accompanied by a field of electricity: it impacted Fake Twilight's upper torso and melted some of his armor to reveal his skin beneath it.

"T-this BRAT!" He roared.

He jumped towards Rock Man but he calmly used the right foot to kick Fake Twilight's nose and break it thus making him cover it out of instinct: he tackled Fake Twilight with his right shoulder and elbow while moving towards the right edge: he finally rammed his head into his chest and Fake Twilight roared as he fell: Rock Man wasted no time into heading towards the archway and shoot a plasma shot at it to melt some of the rocks and make a hole to slip out: a distant splash sound rang out along with some other unidentifiable sounds.

"Rot in your own tomb, Fake Twilight." He muttered.

He ran out of the room and removed the Omega Soul's vest to be able to ignite his jets and fly out: he reached the ground floor and found the others waiting for him.

"You're late by 9 minutes! What happened?" Omega asked.

"A Fake Twilight."

"Fake Twilight?" Omega was surprised.

"He looked like some Ganon imitation. He was saying his consciousness survived and some accomplices have been using Navi's data to rebuild a body for him."

"Reminds me of how Mitos sought to create a new body compatible with her sis Martel's "Mana"…"

"He wanted to steal my Ultimate Program to become "complete" but I could toss him into what seemed to be some kind of dwell." Rock Man explained.

"I doubt that even a fake would die so easily. Anyway… Let's open that door, check out what's there and then run out. The other rooms only had some Viruses and the keys." Omega commanded.

They ran towards the main door and unlocked it to find a large stone shaft with a large square elevator platform: they rode it up.

"Up we go… I guess there's a room in the pyramid's apex."

The elevator stopped in a stone platform floating in the middle of the apex room which had eight pedestals with seven black flames burning on them: the south one was yet unlit.

A spheroid was set on the ceiling and was humming with the sound of machinery.

Eight medallions were set on its surface and one with the _Kanji hikari _or "Light" was unlit.

A cylindrical open capsule hung from beneath the spheroid: it was empty.

"That machine accumulates energy which they used to re-design Fake Twilight's body. This is where the power gathers. The spheroid can be overloaded and it'd blow up like a supernova." Omega muttered.

"You lowlifes! How dare you set your dirty feet into _MY_ sanctuary? I shall see to it that you lowlifes end up as food for the sharks!"

Fake Twilight appeared inside of the open capsule: his cloak had segments missing which looked like they'd been bitten off and his body had signs of having been bitten as well.

"So those shafts had pools of water with sharks on them… It reminds me of Michelangelo." Rock Man muttered.

"This time around I'll get the remaining flame and become Absolute and the Demon God! The Flames of Destruction, Sorrow and Despair will be lit to signal the descent of Ice Queen – sama!" He exclaimed.

"Typical of RPG villains. Make a grand entrance. And those "Flames" are rip-offs from the GBC games _Mysterious Nut Time-Space Chapter _and _Earth Chapter_."

"You traitor! Save that venomous tongue for the plebeians: but you lowlife will die for insulting Ice Queen – sama's honor!" Fake Twilight roared and looked psychotic.

"Something tells me the personality file was purposely set him to be always angry or in rage: they must've though he'd look more intimidating like this... Whatever. Let's beat this guy up and be on our way back."

"Hra~h! Power! Come!" Fake Twilight roared.

"Slow."

Omega had suddenly jumped in front of him and plunged his O – Saber into the chest emblem: Fake Twilight uttered something but Omega merely pressed a button to make the saber glow with a rainbow aura: he took it out and then gripped a medallion with the _Kanji yami_ or "Dark" on it: he ripped it off and then tossed a Mega Energy Bomb inside followed by a shot of plasma: the machine began to make terrific noises and some streaks of energy jumped off it.

"There. Let's get out: my Vaccine Chip effects should keep the guy from moving and his incomplete body won't be able to withstand this explosion nor will his consciousness. Farewell!" Omega announced.

"Y-you lowlifes…! Guo~h!" Fake Twilight roared as he collapsed into his knees: part of his body was starting to delete.

"Your so-called "followers" lazily assembled a lot of "Dark Aura" inside of your body so it'll be your undoing, you fake! Vanish!"

The four of them jumped off the platform and down the shaft before igniting the jets to lower their speed and cancel them to drop down.

"Hurry!"

They quickly began to run out as the whole building rumbled and shook: parts of it began to collapse.

"Heh. It'd seem Bond's "standard operating protocol" which he quoted in _Goldeneye_ is taking effect." Omega joked.

"Heh, heh!" Everyone chuckled.

"IMPOSSIBLE~!" Fake Twilight's voice roared.

The group ran out and quick employed Area Steal to warp about four hundred meters away: they saw how a sphere of energy was occupying the whole apex of the pyramid and growing in size before it stopped and suddenly collapsed into itself leading to its implosion and annihilation of the terrain: a white light engulfed the area.

"Heh, heh, heh. No big deal. That Fake Twilight thing… They've been playing too much _Zelda_ and _Tales of Symphonia_." Netto chuckled.

"Sure thing." Rock Man shrugged.

"I wonder what the real one will say when he hears about this." Omega wondered.

"He won't like being degraded to the barely-intelligent-level of Ganon, truly." Blues sneered.

"He'll be annoyed and even his Darkloids will fear him."

"Good one, Search Man." Laika chuckled.

"You're right, Blues. He'll place a curse on Anderson to delete his cartridges' data."

"But he could download them and play them with an emulator so it'd be rather pointless to begin with." Omega sneered next.

"Heh, heh, heh! _You lose_."

"_Game Over. _And there are no _continues_ left. Heh, heh, heh. Today I feel in a rather good mood to begin with…"

08:05 AM (Japan Time)…

SPLASH!

"… Wha! Cold!"

Saito suddenly sat up on his bed and looked around in a confused manner: his face had been splashed with water: Netto was standing nearby and holding an empty glass while looking worried.

"Finally! I've been trying to wake you up for 45 minutes now, niisan! I had to resort to this." Netto sighed in relief.

"What happened to the pyramid? Did it get destroyed?" Saito asked.

"What pyramid?" Netto frowned.

"We were there!" Saito replied.

"Sorry. But we haven't come out of home yet: we're still on our pajamas, mind you. And it's 08:07 AM." Netto replied.

"On the Cyber World…! Fake Twilight's pyramid! He was there! But we beat him again!" Saito exclaimed.

"W-what? All I know is that you were barely breathing and you were convulsing the whole time: I couldn't wake you up no matter what! It had me sick worried, niisan!" Netto argued.

"Then… The whole of it was… _a dream_?" He gasped.

"So it'd seem. But it's not natural for you to act like that when asleep. And you have light sleep: my yells would've woken you up a while ago already, you know." Netto frowned.

"… Wait… If this dream was connected to Twilight… Maybe that Bug Style and Bestialize Factor data he infected me with two years ago? I know Omega erased it, but… Some fragments could've been left and have slowly grown over the years… Or maybe the real guy found a way to loophole security again…" Saito muttered.

_That annoying guy…! He won't stop messing with our heads…!_

"And they were trying to drive you crazy by recreating _The Matrix_: you can't spot where reality begins or where it ends." Netto guessed.

"Maybe we should go to the Science Labs and have Papa check my systems out…" Saito offered.

"Yeah. But please try to stay awake: I don't know if I could wake you up again. I don't want anything weird to happen to you, niisan." Netto looked worried.

"It won't, Netto – kun. Let's get dressed up and fix everything before making the breakfast and heading over to the Science Labs with the escort car. Do you remember today's passwords?"

"Yeah. They're hilarious: leave it to Denpa – san to come up with them. He has an endless amount of them." Netto grinned.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Denpa – san is the champion of jokes!"

"Ah. That's a first." Blood Shadow calmly commented.

"Mwah, hah, hah. I guess the Military Crush Brothers will wanna straighten that head of ya with their hammers." Sigma laughed.

"And I guess you want instant _udon_ with Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce for lunch today."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Sure thing: give 'em to Meijin!"

"Come on… Don't make Meijin – san into a scapegoat."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… _San wa iranai_, he says! His patented motto!"

"He never patented it, Patent Man."

"I patent the Patent Man! Mwah, hah, hah, ha~h!"

"Great. I'm off to warning the escort car and checking up."

He left the Link PET while the twins were barely holding back their laughter as they picked their clothes from the cupboards.

"Mwah, hah, hah! Raoul is gonna become a disco's owner, even!"

8:51 AM (Japan Time)…

"… _Go_! _Full throttle_! _Go_! _Go_! Damn! Ended up 2nd…! Elec! This game is rigged!"

"_What_! _How dare you_!"

"Trouble, trouble…"

"The start of the Great Cataclysm…!"

"Heh, heh, heh."

Hinoken and Count Elec had been playing _Mario Kart Wii_ and were now arguing over the result inside of the storeroom: given how the door was open, their yells echoed in the main restaurant as Madoi and Maha were working on opening up: Dr. Wily, sitting in the rearmost bench, was chuckling and looked amused.

"This _punk_ - like jerk…! Bring it on!"

"_This caveman jerk_…! _Fight_!"

Yells of a fight rang out from inside of the storeroom: both Madoi and Maha looked totally defeated while Wily kept on chuckling.

"Anderson's emissaries are doing a good job, I'd daresay…" He muttered with obvious amusement.

"Dr. Wily – sama…! Please do something! This is a shame to the WWW: we are fighting amongst us!" Maha groaned.

"Yeah! It's starting to bring out memories of what happened in November, 2004, with that incident at Maha's restaurant!" Madoi added.

"Ah… That was…"

"Don't mind it: we were a bit silly back then."

"Heh, heh, heh." Wily kept on chuckling.

"Tee, heh, heh! Sillier than Mr. Silly~!" Colored Man made up a pun.

"That's impossible…" Magic Man groaned.

"Hinoken – sama's pride puts him in tight spots…! He picked a motorbike with Mario and Yoshi and even so ended up in the 2nd position… What a morning." Fire Man muttered.

"Count Elec picked a kart with Wario and Koppa: even though it's a heavy vehicle and couple, its acceleration in straight roads proved crucial to win the race." Elec Man muttered.

"Yo! Good morning." Charles greeted as he stepped into the restaurant along with Martin.

"Oh! Mr. Charles and Mr. Martin. Welcome."

"Could we have a glass of water? We're in a rush and we know you guys aren't open yet per se, but…" Charles requested.

"The vending machine broke down." Martin admitted.

"No problem." Maha smiled.

"I'd say a guy named Joker Man pulled one on us." Davis grinned.

"I'd say the _saloon_'s cheater is back at it." Lander joked.

"Here you have, gentlemen."

Charles and Davis picked the glasses of water and drank it up in slow sips before leaving the glasses back on the table.

"Ah… Perfect. Thank you, Mr. Maha! How much do we owe you?" Charles asked.

"500 credits in total, gentlemen."

"Good. I'll contribute half. _Fifty – fifty_." Martin grinned.

"Heh, heh. Shadow Man might be behind it, even." Wily chuckled.

"See ya!"

Both of them walked out while Wily chuckled and the other two kept on fighting over the game: Maha and Madoi tried to ignore those and continue working on the restaurant…

10:04 AM (Melbourne Time)…

"… Really… Why did you degrade yourself so much, Master?"

"Heh! I wanted to be ironic with myself."

"Huff. Guess that."

"OH YEAH! LET ZA GANON HIT ZA TRIFORCE!"

"Cloud Man!"

"Yikes!"

"Go tuna!"

"R-roger! Beef and Tuna! I'll pay a visit there… Later, guys!"

"Huff. I get the feeling everything becomes crazier with every passing day ever since October and we're at July."

Philip looked defeated as he looked at the playback of the whole "dream" and Twilight was sneering.

"Heh, heh, heh. I'm a genius with capital G. The other day I helped those misses by directing them to a new club who needs veterans like them to handle trouble." He chuckled.

"I know, Master. I was there, you know?"

"Of course, of course… So?"

"_Platinum_? I'm managing somehow: I managed to use the GTS to get some of the missing PKMN… Too bad there always these "special event" PKMN which can only be gotten through some hacking… Like Arceus: they've figured out that it lives atop the Spear Pillar in the Origin Hall but if you don't have that flute thing then you can't get there. And his Battle BGM IS creepy… The myths say he's the creator of PKMN but it's a myth so it's unconfirmed to begin with…"

"Heh, heh, heh, heh. Gotta hadmit that Game Freak has a lot of imagination and talented staff who come up with good PKMN… Yo and behold: the Apocalypse PKMN Apocalipsus! Normal Type!"

"Apocalipsus… How lame."

"Totally." The other Darkloids (Zoan Gate Man included) sighed.

"Don't be so defeatist, my subordinates!"

"We are!"

"Maybe we need Mr. Dragonus to cheer us up? Or _TMNT_'s "Shreeder" with his cool escapes?"

"No~…"

"Or Dragon Hell's banners? Or Shadow Man's mottoes?"

"No~…"

"Listen up! Welcome To The Eternally Flowing Hatred And Desire Which Are Carved By Humanity!"

"How stupid."

"Guess you need something exciting. How about a trip to the Bahamas?"

"No~…"

"I know! We gotta invite Count Elec to sing us "Let It Be Count Elec V 2009" in _live_ and _VIP_!"

Philip had had enough so he stood up and walked off the room groaning while the others warped out of the PC leaving Twilight alone save for some Mettools in the PC.

"Metto~?" They wondered.

"Guess I pushed them to the limit of their patience, then. Heh."

"Me~tto~…"

"Go, Legion 64! Bring me news! And a Coca Cola along the way."

"Metto~?"

"And some pop-corn to eat while I watch the newest chapter too… Heh, heh, heh, heh… That's all, folks! Yosemite Sam says come back soon!"


	22. Chapter 22: Lingering traces

**Chapter 22: Lingering traces**

09:34 AM (Japan Time), Sunday July the 2nd…

"… Why did we come here _again_? Are you going to let that lingering ghost haunt you again?"

"No. I've come to settle the score with it."

Nelaus was walking down a corridor cut into the ice and illuminated by fluorescent lights.

He was wearing a pale gray bodysuit with several round spots placed around it combined with black gloves and boots.

He also wore a brown leather pilot's helmet with black shades which he'd currently lifted.

Isaac was projecting with the holographic display and looked concerned while Nelaus displayed determination.

"Really?" Isaac gasped.

"Yeah. This time around it's for good." Nelaus replied.

He crossed through two thick steel lock gates which were opened and stepped into a new room.

This new room was an armored cubical chamber somewhere: this chamber had few objects on it but there was one which stood out.

And that "one" was a tall cylinder with two cone-shaped ends set in the exact middle of it: the main body was over two meters tall and the ends were about 50cm tall each.

Two LCD monitors had been set a few centimeters away from the SW and SE corners and were linked to the main cylinder by wires on the ground.

The left monitor displayed life-signs graphs like heartbeat, blood flow and EEG activity: it was dead.

The second monitor looked like it'd been destroyed from the inside and didn't work either.

A path had been painted using purple pain from the doors to the front of the cylinder where some small metallic steps allowed one to climb up to the height of the cylinder's main body.

Some waist-high handrails had been deployed along the length of the path as well.

Two pairs of switched off fluorescent tubes were set in the ceiling.

The insides of the capsule had a lot of white plastic wires which formed out of a cylindrical column and which were hanging loose: they had small dome-shaped membranes at their ends.

Two opened purple wrist restrains were visible too.

A curved rail was drawn above and below the north face and it could be seen that the north-facing edges of the curved armored body had two retracted curved glass walls painted black.

Other stuff included a detached oxygen mask hanging from it and some metallic restrains for the arms and legs plus the torso.

"… Listen me well, you ghost of the past! I've come to settle the score for good today! I was _always_ a _normal human_: I just was exposed to radiation during a mission for Maria…" Nelaus began.

He lifted his right arm and pointed his index finger at the capsule as if accusing it of having done something.

"… There was no other way around but to place me in cold sleep and undergo the necessary genetic modifications to heal me: I spent _five years_ sleeping here. It was like an extremely long nap: I went to sleep with eleven years and I woke up with sixteen. I can't complain: it could've been way longer. This is how I settle it with you: so be gone already! Go, pick a ticket!" Nelaus continued while increasing his voice's volume.

He dropped the arm down and then inhaled breath to exhale it out at a slow rate: he seemed to shake a lot of tension off him and continued to stare at the capsule: he then headed towards the opening he'd come from at a firm pace.

"Good job, Nelaus! You've settled it perfectly."

"Thank you. Let's go home. Now Twilight can't haunt me with that damned thing anymore." Nelaus sighed in relief.

"O. K., Admiral." Isaac joked.

Nelaus walked across the corridor and reached an elevating platform: it climbed up a shaft and ended in a corridor heading towards the west: Nelaus walked across it and stepped into a second platform: this one ended up inside of a hanger built in the surface.

"Surface."

The hanger only had a metallic grid set in a 45º angle and facing forward thus a jet plane painted in camouflage colors: it even had missiles and machineguns on it: the hanger's doors were locked.

"By the way… What happened to the four "Dimensional Converters" which were here to protect the plane from the temperatures and humidity? They weren't last time around, either." Nelaus frowned.

"Vadous picked them up one year ago when he was trying to find out about who we were back when we worked for "Deadly Pandora"..."

"Oh. True, true. Anyway… This is the last time I'll come here: I've destroyed that lingering ghost of the past. Farewell, Gondwana!"

He headed over to the plane and used two steel rung ladders to climb into the cockpit, which had automatically opened: Nelaus jumped inside and it locked again: he then aimed the PET at the control panel.

"Plug In! Isaac, Transmission!"

Isaac entered the system while Nelaus pressed some switches: the plane's engines began to whistle and several indicators lighted up.

"OK."

Isaac displayed using a projector built atop the control console.

"All check-outs are green." He reported.

"Good. Let's set course to Densan City Airfield."

"Hmmm?" Isaac suddenly looked behind him.

"What's wrong?" Nelaus asked as he pressed some more switches.

"… Computer! Is there any executable program over 500 MB in size apart from me in the system?" Isaac asked.

"Roger. One such program has been located trying to access the root directory: it lacks permission so entry has been denied."

"No way…" Nelaus groaned.

"Felicia – chan!" Isaac growled.

"… Uh… Hullo…" Felicia timidly replied.

"You sneaked aboard our plane!" Isaac hissed.

"W-well…!"

"How _much_ did you hear?"

"Eh… That's… Hum…" She trailed off again.

"Answer us: this plane is property of the Net Police and we're Net Saviors so we're legally authorized to question you because you're a civilian who illegally accessed a Net Police system!" Isaac told her.

"I'm s-sorry, but…!"

"But curiosity got the cat: is that it?" Nelaus growled.

"Y-yeah… True…" Felicia came into view while blushing.

"We're gonna have a _serious_ talk with you and Aura – chan. Do we stalk you or what? Did we try to invade your privacy? Did we try to secretly find out something about you?" Isaac questioned.

"N-no, you didn't because you're honest boys, so…!" She nervously replied in a rush.

"Oh come on." Nelaus groaned.

"Get into my PET and I'll lock it: I don't feel like taking off while you're messing around with the root directory." Isaac hissed.

"Y-yeah! S-sorry!"

She transferred into Isaac's PET and he quickly activated its firewall: he brought up the command line screen and inputted the following command.

"access-list 2 deny ip host 10 10 10 1 255 out"

"There: she can't come out. Let's get back to Akihara and solve this mess at our home." Isaac fumed.

"Yeah. Let's go." Nelaus sighed.

He began to pull the control handle towards him and the jet's engines' whistle increased: the doors of the hanger opened to reveal a take-off runway: the skies were clear and there was not a single cloud in sight as well.

"Take-off in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Take-off!"

The jet shot forward across the runway and Nelaus began to pull the handle downwards to lift the "nose" of the jet to be followed by the rest of the body: he was soon climbing at a mad speed and the panorama expanded to reveal the outpost complex: most of the buildings were still intact but showed obvious signs of abandonment: the plane soon stabilized and Nelaus reduced the speed.

"Okay. We got into the flight path: there's nothing flying around in a 3 kilometer radius from here: no planes come so far."

"Good. You better get ready, Felicia – chan, because we're going to be serious when questioning you. And we want _honest_ answers else our relationship will crumble." Isaac warned her.

"Y-yeah…! Gotcha…" Felicia gulped.

"Really… Why do you have to take after Sakurai?" Nelaus sighed.

"Yeah. Answer us."

"Well… We thought it was cool how she found out about Netto – san being a Net Savior by following him that day Darkloid Flash Man began to cause a ruckus, so…" Felicia trailed off.

"Something tells me that Aura-chan also wanted to make sure we weren't double-crossing her. Am I right?"

"Y-yeah! She was the one who started it… I then got picked once we saw you using the plane for the first time, so…"

"Jeez. Nowadays girls are turning into stalkers as well… Stalking is a crime, did you know that? Unless you're a government agent or police agent, then…" Isaac scolded.

"W-we knew that, but…!"

"But you got fueled up." Nelaus drily replied.

"Huh-uh… More or less…" She muttered while looking elsewhere.

"I hope you didn't try to spy on our private time, either." Nelaus sounded icy by now.

"N-no! We'd never do that!" She insisted.

"Whatever. We'll know the rest when we get home." Isaac fumed.

"Sorry…" She muttered.

"It doesn't matter how much you apologize now 'cause nothing will change: gotcha?"

"R-roger…"

"And don't try to force your way out because you can't."

"N-no… Not like I intended to… Sorry…"

"And all my files are password-locked so don't try to snoop there either or I'll get really annoyed, Felicia – chan! Girls! You always have to be pesky!"

"Really… Why can't you have enough with seeing the TV? Jeez."

"W-well, that's… Well… Hum… Eh… Huff. I've gotten into a pinch!"

10:14 AM (Japan Time)…

"… How is it, Papa?"

"Saito's hypothesis was right: there's a small segment of mixed Bug Style and Bestialize Factor data which has been able to sneak into his personality file as well as some segments of the electronic brain… It most likely disabled smelling and hearing but was unable to mess with the CNS implants thanks to their high security… The whole mass amounts to a 5% of his personality file data and lodged as an additional directory. Guess Twilight's been busy."

Yuuichirou was typing into the Navi analysis machine on the Science Labs the screen of which displayed Saito's Navi frame: his real-world body was lying on a nearby _futon_: Netto was standing right behind his father's right shoulder.

"I see… And they built up over these two years since Omega's Anti-Bug Style Program didn't recognize that data as pure Bug Style per se so it couldn't delete it." Netto guessed.

"Sorry. We didn't do a deep enough scan other times." Blood Shadow apologized with a sigh.

"Huff. We didn't think of it…" Sigma apologized.

"It's not you guys' fault: I should've thought of that, too. Anyway… This can be easily fixed as we speak: I've already quarantined over 70% of it so once all data is quarantined, it can be destroyed. I'll recheck his sub-systems since we don't want that of four years ago repeating."

"Yeah. Better to prevent than to heal…" Netto muttered.

"By the way… Is it me or was Annihilator Man a bit sloppy when trying to face off Commander Omega…? Like he wasn't being totally serious…"

"Mwah, hah, hah… He didn't drink his Wales Tea!" Sigma laughed.

"Maybe he just wanted combat data, then…"

He brought the left hand to his chin and seemed to be thinking about it…

13:48 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Japan. Get ready to land."

Nelaus' plane approached an airfield and touched down on the runway: he reversed the engines and deployed a parachute to help the plane slow down: he then kept the lowest possible speed as it taxied towards a hanger building: the plane entered and stepped into a round platform which turned it around 180º to get it ready for the next sortie.

"Home, sweet home…" Nelaus muttered.

He began to switch off everything before unlocking the cockpit and climbing out of it: he closed it again and then headed towards an adjacent restroom: there was a sports bag over there.

"Isaac. Keep Felicia under check and tell her to contact Aura – chan: wait outside." Nelaus instructed.

"Roger."

He left the PET in a stool while he entered the restroom and locked the door from the inside: Isaac glared at Felicia and she gulped.

"Use the Wi-Fi and get into Aura – chan's PET: tell her to wait outside for Nelaus to come out." He grumbled.

Felicia quickly ran outside while Isaac fumed: Nelaus immediately came out while having put his trench coat over the bodysuit along with his hat: he'd stored the helmet in the bag, too.

"Let's go."

He picked his PET and interacted with an alarm control panel: it turned on and began to beep as Nelaus quickly opened the side door and came out to then lock it down: he immediately faced Aura, who was standing there and looked nervous.

"Aura – chan. Let's go to my home. I'll treat you to tea. And we need to talk _seriously_." Nelaus calmly told her.

"T-thanks." She muttered.

14:09 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Here we are. Please wait there and I'll bring the tea. And please don't try to steal anything 'special'."

"Y-yeah… I wouldn't do that, anyway…"

Nelaus headed into his house's kitchen and opened a cupboard to take out two tea cups and a teapot: he boiled some water and then added the instant tea into it.

"There."

He served it on the cups before placing everything on a plastic white platter along with some peanuts: he brought it to the living room and set it on the table.

"Here you have."

He handed Aura her cup while he picked his as he sat down in sofa in front of her.

"So?" Nelaus began.

"I'm sorry, really sorry…! Nelaus – kun! I didn't want to hurt you, really, but…" Aura pleaded.

"How much did you hear, Felicia – chan?" Isaac questioned.

"Well… The whole monologue…" She muttered.

"I knew it." Isaac fumed.

"… So? What do you think now?" Nelaus icily asked.

"Eh… That… That that man's… That Navi's talk… Was true." Aura slowly muttered.

"So. You see me as a freak." Nelaus began to sound annoyed.

"N-no! You're a nice person, Nelaus – kun! I wouldn't want to hurt you at all…! It's just that… We girls are so drawn into the world of secrets…" She quickly replied.

"Some things are better off not known. It's called "Need Not To Know" in national security terminology." Nelaus icily replied.

"Please forgive me…! I didn't want to hurt you! I was just trying to settle it with my doubts…!" Aura began to cry.

"… Then don't talk of what I'm going to say."

"Y-yeah…! I promise…" She gasped.

"Gate's talk was true: I am a _genetically engineered human_ or a _clone_ if you want to use a shorter and easier word: however, this last word is not accurately replied because I'm no-one's copy: my DNA string is 100% original and doesn't have any traces of anyone known. They wanted me to be a totally original person not an imitator."

"So it was true… But then… You hadn't had a "life" before waking up on that Antarctica refuge…?"

"No. My body "lived" per se during five years but my consciousness was non-existent: I was fed information through a chip implant into my brain to help me understand the world by the time I was to wake up. Isaac did have consciousness and was in charge of monitoring me, yet… He was only awake once per trimester to check on me: he was only awake for about twenty days in that whole five year period." Nelaus continued.

"Two days before he woke up I was contacted with emergency orders: the rendezvous location had been changed and I was given the new coordinates. I then woke up again two days later to begin my new "life": I was to check on Nelaus' awakening and guide him towards the rendezvous point. That day marked his "birthday" per se and he was "born" with the body and mind of a 16 year old person." Isaac admitted.

"And you then had to work for that gang in Chicago…?" Felicia asked.

"No. That of Chicago was a cover: the gang was named Deadly Pandora and had its base on the Pacific Ocean, not too far from Indonesia. We worked for them since they were hiding the two masterminds behind our "creation": we trained in Net Battling and did Net Battles with some persons by their orders." Isaac replied.

"The guys who took over the DNN…!"

"Correct."

"But why did you quit them?"

"They were treating me like I was dumb and I couldn't catch up: there was something going on behind the veil but they were trying to airbrush it up to begin with. I was fed up with what I saw as an insult to my intelligence and began to research."

"So then…"

"The hijack day I was called to Chicago by Mr. Rainon… He was the former godfather of one of the criminals and didn't want me to end up trapped in an endless cycle of pain and paranoia. And after hearing his talk, I decided: I wouldn't let anyone control me. I was a human: I could chase my own goals. So I turned myself in to the Net Police and, after some talks, Commissioner Kifune decided that I couldn't be punished since I really hadn't done anything "evil" or "bad": I hadn't harmed anyone, either. So they appointed me a Net Savior and Mr. Rainon registered me to be my uncle. And this is how I ended up where I currently am at."

He drank some more tea while Aura and Felicia kept silence: the whole thing prolonged for over five minutes and the only sounds were the muffled vehicle traffic or the humming of the fridge.

"… And then… That "Gate" person sought to make us fight by trying to make you look like a… hum… a different person?" Aura broke the silence in a timid manner.

"Yeah. That guy had been the systems engineer for that criminal mastermind's mobile HQ: a custom yacht. However, she then told him to go seek exit elsewhere and he did so in Schneider Inc: a German weapons manufacturer. He researched around and discovered about what had happened to his boss: he saw me as the cause of her second downfall and tried to take it out on me out of paranoia believe I was her "favorite": I had to defeat him twice and delete him at the second try or else I wouldn't be here today."

"Yet… Just who was that criminal? A drug smuggling ringleader…? If memory serves they named them "IQ"…" Felicia asked.

"… You've seen the news lately? They closed an establishment in which they abused teen guys… And you know about how they also abuse of women elsewhere…" Isaac sighed.

"T-then… She was the leader of one such establishment? It's no wonder she was closed in prison, then…" Aura muttered.

"Worse: she was the "Ice Queen" of the whole Japan underground: her filthy money amassed through sinister deals, speculation and bank robbery ruled over all those places and controlled them. She also had her own secret place on that yacht which was a living _Naraku_: even though an insider helped the police bring her down and free the victims, some of them ended up in an almost vegetative state… They'd lost whole years of their lives and would most likely unable to reinsert themselves into society… It's been hard to try to keep them controlled and avoid them from trying to suicide out of a profound depression."

"Goodness…!" Both girls gasped.

"In total… Her _direct_ victims, the ones rescued from the yacht, clock at around 80 teens of different ages and both sexes but always in the 10~16 age range: it's impossible to calculate the _indirect_ victims because all those places end up making deals and interchanging victims. It's a sick business which must be taken down." Isaac added.

"Then we should be glad that leadership crumbled… And that the police can find and close those places…" Aura looked pale by now.

"Sorry if I scared you, Aura – chan, but… It's reality. We can't pretend it isn't there. That's why I took the freedom of requesting for a small Net Police escort in case someone tried to harm you to get to me."

"I'd noticed… And I'm thankful of it…"

"The whole point is: don't let lust, envy, greed or power-hunger take a hold of you: that woman started as a normal person and look where she ended in barely five years." Isaac warned.

"Reality… It's cruel, but… It's reality." Felicia muttered.

"I'll bring some more tea." Nelaus offered.

He headed out of the living room while Aura and Felicia looked like they were reeling at the tale.

"Here…"

Nelaus served some more tea and Aura drank it up to gain some color back to her.

"Aura – chan. Please be realistic. This is something which used to hurt me, but… Now I've settled it with my ghost of the past. From now on… I'm just a normal person. Did Felicia tell you about my monologue?"

"Yeah… And I agree with it: you're a normal person. You just happened to fall under the hands of that Demon and she wanted to shape you into a ruthless person although she didn't get to." Aura nodded in agreement and looked serious.

"Thank you… You saw how many people support me back when the birthday party: I don't want to lose them." Nelaus reminded her.

"Nobody wants to lose those who support them…" Isaac sighed.

"Y-yeah… That's true…" Aura muttered.

"… We forced you two to talk… We're to blame. We really are."

"So please let's pretend nothing happened and keep as we were."

"Deal?" Isaac suggested.

"Deal." Both replied.

"From now on… Let's keep as were." Aura and Felicia suggested.

"Perfect." Nelaus and Isaac replied.

They all inhaled and exhaled to shake off their gloomy mood and slowly managed to smile: Aura suddenly blew a teasing kiss at Nelaus, who turned red while the Navis either giggled or chuckled…

15:20 PM (Melbourne Time)…

"… Huff. I don't feel like going downstairs to get to listen to Master's pointless jokes again."

"Mwah, hah, hah. Then let's go to the disco, Bapgei."

"Huff. Cloud Man. Discos only open at the evening and it ain't 4 PM yet in case ya didn't know that."

"Mwah, hah, hah. I'm a genius!"

"Guess that."

"Wanna listen to the Club Which Delivers Headaches?"

"… It's a pun, Cloud Man! You mean club as in the Trumps' club, the blunt thing…"

"Correct! 100 points for Bepgei!"

"Huff. Why can't you leave me alone?"

"Guess I'm like Ratatosk: always popping out when ya feel annoyed."

"Huff. Don't mix in _ToS: KoR_ next."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah."

Philip had been lying face-up on his bed and looked bored or fed up when Cloud Man's hologram began to hover at his left but he barely bothered to glance there while he'd placed both hands behind his head to look at the ceiling.

"OH YEAH! LET ZA BAPGEI HIT ZA NELAUS!"

"Huff. Go tell Darth Krayt how to rule over his subordinates."

"Delighted. With shock therapy!"

Cloud Man laughed and his hologram vanished so Philip finally sighed in relief and picked up a comic book from close by.

"Let's read _MGS2_."

He began to read and seemed to get interested as he progressed: he got hooked and began to hum the "Encounter" theme next.

"Tun-tun-tun-tun… Ah yeah. "Where were at?" … "I was about to say you should go to the mad house. I'll bring you there myself."… Good mottoes, really… You'd really say that after you saw how Ocelot behaved in front of your eyes and all."

"… Flipping Opening Closing Ending Dividing Death!"

"Master… He's gotten into some weird mood today. He should go throw fireworks on the 4th. Even though we don't have that party here…"

"… Landing Crashing Dying Planning Plane!"

"What in the… Are ya sure ya don't need some psycho-analysis?"

"Mortadelo & Filemón Bring Catastrophe Along! But the CIA guys also got a stroke of luck with trying to catching Trap Steel! "Well, yeah, we know the fellow. A sneaky customer, a genius at escaping… He always jumped out the window at the last second! Like when we tried to catch him there, on Massachusetts… When we were about to catch him in Wisconsin… And last time around… He also escaped by inches!" … "He jumped out the window again?" … "Yeah. But he forgot we were in Chicago… In a 47th floor residence… That's some luck!" …"

"Jeez. So you mean to say he forgot he was in a 47th floor and fell to his ultimately demise." Philip muttered with some annoyance.

"… "Well… We'll give you a plane 'cause we're colleagues! OK! Smith, bring the DC-8 keys for the buddies!" … "The DC-8? But it's already on the scrap…!" …"Shut it up! Give the DC-8 to the gentlemen and no problem!"…"

"And they gave them a small two-seater open-cockpit helix-propelled thing which barely held together and then broke down…"

"Heh, heh, heh. If you want impossible adventures M&F's the choice for ya guys and gals… Bugs Bunny wants YOU for the Looney Tunes show!"

"What a stupidity. I hope he gets serious again soon or else… Huff."


	23. Chapter 23: Advancement

**Chapter 23: Advancement**

16:51 PM (Japan Time), Sunday July the 2nd…

"… You still weren't able to locate those two?"

"I shall offer no excuses."

"Che. They saw it coming so they cut off all contact…"

Priest sounded annoyed once Annihilator Man appeared inside of the capsule and bowed.

"I was able to retrieve their Annihilator Chip: it had a transmitter emitting a signal through the IP address I use to remotely control the Net Navis: but there were no other traces. The Chip was at Akita Prefecture's Akita City, _My Master_." He reported next.

"Directly north of Yamagata Prefecture… It could be that they're heading towards Hokkaido, too… Did you check their flat in Ibaraki Prefecture, too?" Priest questioned.

"I did, but… There was nothing: I later found out that it wasn't their original flag but one they'd stolen off a high school student whose whereabouts turned out to be an infamous "club": Kazuhira pretended to be his elder sister. Hence, all furniture was not theirs and the only thing they took away was their own laptop."

"Damn. And there I go and get fooled…! Ancient was an idiot who didn't know how to appreciate the hand we lent him, so he resigned. But those women…! I'm sure Witch's coding to allow for the SSH remote control has been deleted, too. Whatever! Let them flee to the end of the world: Vadous will deal with that. Let's focus: how is development of the new energy system going like?" Priest grumbled.

"98.5% complete, _My Master_. All which is left is just small tuning and the economic balance of how much it costs to produce and how consumer-efficient it is."

"Hmmm… Then it could be ready in a few more days… Good enough: my goal is to complete it."

"The only reason we set up Rama was so that you, sir, could have a feeling of being powerful enough to avoid anything happening to your persona, sir?" Annihilator Man asked.

"Yeah. Ever since that day I felt like I was in need of power… Those suggestions I read through that forum were good enough reference. Once Rama ends the remaining three will be left to go their ways as they were doing before."

"Yet… Priest – sama. I have lately felt like there was some kind of "presence" lingering around us… And I don't mean the Net Saviors or the Subspace or Twilight, sir. It feels like another party altogether."

"… Yeah. I've been having that feeling for a while, too… But I've taken precautions already. I want to be several steps ahead." Priest muttered with a hint of mistrusting.

"What should we do, then, sir? Do we focus on completing the project, sir?"

"Yeah. Let's work on it: tell the three men that they're free to battle whoever they want but don't use the Annihilator Chip: I need you to focus your attention on the project if we want to complete it."

"Roger. I shall be going, sir."

"Fine."

Priest was left alone and he tapped the right armrest while bringing the left hand to his face.

"It's the best solution. This system is an expansion of the super energy system Father designed. It will become a clean energy source which will revolutionize the world in the years to come. We will be able to say goodbye to overuse of oil and coal as well as nuclear energy. And it will be the scientists who promote it, not the greedy markets… Such is my desire and so it shall be!" He muttered.

"Define "greedy", Reclaimer."

"Huff. Go check out the Encyclopedia Britannica. Let's get to work."

17:17 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hello."

"Ah. Colonel. So?"

"I spotted Annihilator Man."

"Where?"

"Akita City…"

"Hmmm…"

Omega and Colonel were talking while standing in the uppermost row of spectator seats in the Internet City Stadium: Omega looked thoughtful upon hearing the info from Colonel.

"They must be looking for those two renegades. Let them be, then. Incidentally… Have you tried to have a look if you could find any evidence of Dark Land being up to something? Schneider Inc. did destroy the weapons the Desert Wraiths did and has recycled all the components to be profitable, so…" Omega asked.

"I went with Zero and Shadow Man to the Reverse Cyber World: it'd seem the Secret Services' departments are still trying to blame each other for their failure at seizing the weapons of the Desert Wraiths before they deserted Dark Land. It looks like the whole structure will collapse any day now and there are talks of possible civilian rebellions. The big boss has given up trying to impose order, too, even with threats." Colonel explained.

"I see. Well then… Let them destroy themselves. One headache less, after all!" Omega shrugged.

"True. However… Barrel Tai – sa feels like that's like bait to draw the attention out of the general command structure: they have potential to do things without the Secret Service, too."

"It makes sense when you phrase it this way… I'll talk it with Boss: we might be neglecting those guys way too much."

"Yo! Have ya guys seen a monster-like Navi 'round 'ere? I'm his _aibou_ and I was waitin' for 'im!" A voice with Oosaka dialect rang out.

Both turned to the left to see Destruction Man there: he didn't seem to have recognized them, so they seemingly played along.

"Huh… No. We haven't." Omega replied.

"Monster-like…? Hum… I'm afraid not."

"I see… Sorry to bother ya guys… See ya." He sighed.

He headed towards another level and both of them discreetly followed him with the sight without moving from their posts: they spotted him reaching the lowest row and Balrog suddenly flew towards him from the left: they began talking but the noise of the stadium drowned their voices and made it unable to hear.

"Che. We'll have to get closer."

"Leave it to me." Omega grinned.

He quickly ran down the stairs while seemingly looking in a rush and purposely missed one step to crash upon Destruction Man.

"Ow! Sorry… I forgot the time and my girlfriend is gonna be mad at me for being late…" He apologized.

"Oho. Then ya better hurry: it's no good makin' a nice-lookin' girl wait or ya get yer ears pulled." Destruction Man sounded amused.

"Yeah… And they then bring out the flames of Amon Amarth AKA Mount Doom… Bwah, hah, hah, ha~h!" Balrog laughed.

"Huh! Gotta hurry!" Omega played the nervous.

He ran off and picked one of the way outs while grinning: he tapped his right ear pad twice and some static sounded through it along with the yells of the crowd and the voices of both Rama Net Navis.

"… Anyway… We're gonna go take down a big hound together, then."

"Yessir! We goin' to rumble and shake!"

_So! They're going to bring down a large infamous club together… Since that's what we do, too, then we're not gonna stop them. _

Omega met up with Colonel and signaled for him to come with him: they walked out of the stadium and Omega turned off the radio.

"I put a mike into Destruction Man… He and Balrog intend to take down a large gang along with their Operators at some point today. That falls within our interests, so let's let leave them alone: please focus on the Dark Land front and report any suspicious advancement towards this affair."

"Deal. We'll meet again." Colonel agreed on it.

He walked away while Omega slipped into the crowds as he hummed a tune and tried not to stand out: he spotted Shadow Man standing next to the Cyber World Higureya locale and talking with Davis.

"Yo. Preparing the newest joke directed at Higure, guys?" Omega asked them with a grin.

"True." Shadow Man admitted.

"We're going to make him buy prayer beads, even." Davis chuckled.

Omega lifted his eyebrows as he followed both of them inside of the store: Number Man was humming a tune as helped organize the shelves with Aqua Man's help.

"Good morning. Welcome to Higureya." He welcomed.

"Pyururu~! 'Morning, pyu!" Aqua Man greeted.

"Commander David Bowman tells you to get ready." Davis grinned.

"Takeda Shingen's descendant tells you to get ready." Shadow Man added with a chuckle.

"Ah. I get it." Number Man sounded amused.

"Ya~h! De masu~! It came, it came and it came~! De masu~! The Serpent God, de masu! Spare me, de masu~!" Higure yelped.

"Oho. Serpent God…" Omega smiled.

"Mortal fool! Do not try to ignore my existence! You made a pact with me 15 years ago! Where are the worship stones, statues and monuments you promised?" A commanding voice questioned.

"T-thins changed along the way, de masu! 15 years is a lot of time, de masu!" Higure argued.

"When you make a pledge to the Serpent God for power you give something on return! I shall have those devices which seemingly give you such wealth!" The voice roared.

"N-not the Rare Chips, de masu! Take all the other Chips but please leave the Rare Chips alone, de masu!" Higure pleaded.

"I have run out of patience! You shall be destroyed here and now, you mortal fool! Infinity End!"

"A~H! DE MASU~! MS. GLASSY~!"

There was the sound of an energy attack being shot out and Higure seemingly collapsed: the four Navis were barely holding back their laughter.

"_Veni. Vidi. Vinci._" A familiar voice announced.

"Mi – Miyabi – san! De masu!"

"College of Charleston came to educate you."

"S-Senator Morgangantz, de masu…! Again, de masu…! I've been tricked with a hologram again, de masu…!" Higure cursed.

"Maybe Ms. Glassy's glasses are outdated?" Charles joked.

"Worse: it's a cursed item." Miyabi added.

"OUT! COME OUT OF MY STORE, DE MASU~!" Higure roared.

"Number Man…! De masu! You conspirer, de masu!"

"Tell that to Ms. Glassy: she was an agent working for both Dark Land and that Dr. Gate guy. She had to flee after she was exposed and no – one knows what became of her." Number Man replied.

"Grah! De masu! I'm cursed, de masu! Now I have to go and try to receive forgiveness from Mariko – sensei, de masu!" Higure uttered.

"Pyurururu~! Higure – san is desperate, pyu." Aqua Man muttered.

"True." Omega confirmed.

"Let's go out." Shadow Man suggested.

"And slay a vampire by the way." Davis joked.

"See you around! Aqua Man: you can go back already."

"Pyururu~!"

The four of them came out of the store as Number Man and Higure began to yell at each other.

"So?" Omega asked the other two.

"Dark Land, you mean? Too quiet. It was too easy to slip inside. They must want us to build up confidence: they loosened security on purpose."

"Yeah. Zero told me about it, too. They're obviously up to something but they want us to get the idea that they're sucking each other's blood off by now." Davis grumbled.

"Try to keep an eye out on your side, too, Davis and Charles. They could try something regarding the Justice Council, too." Omega warned.

"Slay their foul haircuts. This summer I feel like it for some reason or another." Miyabi improvised.

"Oho. That'd be terrific." Shadow Man looked amused.

"Dave~… Hal wants ya to investigate Pluto and settle the dispute~…"

"Jeez. To me it makes sense Pluto is a "dwarf planet" from a Math POV…"

"Heh, heh, heh. Guess that. The Monolith will settle it. See ya 'round!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Zoan Gate Man tells you I saw it all. You're doomed."

"Heh. Come back anytime, neophyte. Shadow Man – sama will wait…"

19:09 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Really… That's your way of saying "bye" before returning to Sharo Nation tomorrow, Laika?"

"Guess so… Does it bother you?"

"No. It amuses me."

"Heh, heh. That's the side of you which draws me."

Laika was making out with Netto: he had that S&M gear on along with a blindfold and his forearms were placed behind him: Laika was lying face-up on the bed and gripping Netto's sides to pump in and out of his insides while keeping him in face-up position as well.

"And you play with the blindfold 'cause I look hotter to ya like this, am I right?" Netto calmly guessed.

"Yeah. And Enzan told me some tricks, too, but I have my own."

"Then try it: I'll treat you to a Maha Ichiban's meal next time you come back if you can make me moan." Netto challenged.

"Sure."

Laika sucked some of his fingers with his saliva and began to rub Netto's nipples at a soft and slow rate: Netto didn't seem to notice it: Laika rolled his eyes.

"… Eh… Do you let me use anything else apart from the fingers or the ice cubes?" Laika asked.

"… You mean clothes pegs?"

"Sorry. Then I won't." Laika quickly replied.

"No. I don't care. Go ahead."

"But I don't want to push it: you must have a bad memory with that stuff and even with the chip implant on your head the instinct could make you recall it… I don't want that to happen, so… I'll just stick to my fingers and try with them." Laika argued.

"Laika… I know you care for me and that you _like_ me: this is just a game we do to make it more "exciting": you're not a soulless man who goes to one of those clubs to abuse a guy. So I won't care if we play a bit. And I'm 16 already! I can face those memories and not feel shocked at all: I just wasn't able to avoid those from happening. I told you over and over again that the deal of 4 years ago made me indifferent."

"Sorry. I still treat you like you were 12 again… You're right: you can't pretend it didn't happen the whole time. Okay. I'll do it, then." Laika smiled and looked rather relieved.

"Go for it."

Laika rummaged inside of a small bag and took out two red plastic clothes pegs: he clipped them to Netto's nipples and they were set in a vertical position: Netto didn't seem to notice them, either.

"OK."

Laika began to move them left and right before pulling them but Netto was proving to be more resistant than one would expect.

"Man. What do I need to break that façade of yours, a sacred sword capable of repelling demons?" Laika sarcastically asked.

"Dunno. Ask Tolstoy." Netto grinned.

"Very funny."

"Heh, heh, heh."

Laika then tried to grip Netto's balls but he didn't seem to feel it, either, and he rolled his eyes.

"I give up. I'll treat." Laika admitted.

"Whoa. I guess I'm turning into stone." Netto sounded surprised.

"Let's keep as we were."

"Sure."

"Here I go."

Laika began to thrust in and out inside while Netto hummed the _Star Wars_ tune: Laika increased his speed and began to rub Netto's cock at the same time: he looked like he was enjoying it and Netto drew a broad grin on his face.

"Here I go!" Netto announced.

He released and his release gripped Laika's cock thus making him release and overfill Netto's insides: his liquid began to slide down and both panted from the effort.

"Huff… Huff… Well… I'll be back in about a week's time since it's just the monthly training exercises…" Laika admitted.

"O. K. Give me a taste."

"Sure."

He detached Netto from him and set him on the bed before sitting on his knees above his head and lifting it up from behind to have him take his cock into his mouth: Netto calmly followed the pace set by Laika and licked the head thus making Laika moan.

"You really don't mind it?" Laika asked.

Netto merely increased his own pace as if to reply: Laika closed his eyes and kept on pumping out of instinct until he released: he took his cock out and then shared a kiss with Netto: they broke apart and Laika looked at the white string of saliva linking them.

"I'm going to take this off." Laika told him.

He removed the blindfold and unlocked his forearms: Netto calmly rubbed his eyes and stretched.

"Nothing like a good thrill before supper…" He chuckled.

"Sure."

"Saito - niisan must've gone intensely with Search Man, too. But they don't play like this so it's a different experience for them. And since we've been having threesomes with Tooru – kun… Meh."

"By the way… You seem to have gotten an email." Laika glanced at Netto's Link PET screen.

"I'll check it out, then. It could be important stuff." Netto calmly replied as he climbed out of the bed.

He picked the Link PET and accessed his inbox.

"From Tooru – kun… Hmmm… It turns out he knew the student whom those two abused of… They'd met at an _otaku_ convention where they cosplayed as characters from a _manga_ named _Swordsman Akira_… They quickly found they shared many topics and have been in contact ever since then…"

"I doubt those two knowing it…" Laika frowned.

"Hmmm… According to further investigation, it'd seem he was lured out into a trap because those two broke into a flat after posing as 6th graders… Witch did the role while Prophetess played the cousin: while Witch was keeping him busy, she probably went ahead and set everything up: the student was rather disappointed to know he'd been fooled."

"That's a lowlife's strategy." Laika grumbled.

"Yeah… Fueling his mood up to then crush it…" Netto sighed.

"Anyway… Good luck."

"Oi. Don't run off. Wait until I take this off and then dress up again, will you?" Netto protested.

"Heh, heh. I tricked you." Laika chuckled.

"You're a nice guy, after all, Laika." Netto admitted.

"Thank you, _handsome_." Laika teased.

He took off the gear and stored it on a suitcase which he locked with a padlock and hid under the bed: they then dressed up and headed out into the living room where Saito was speaking to Search Man.

"OK! Let's go, Saito – niisan. Time to search and research! Heh, heh!"


	24. Chapter 24: One step closer

**Chapter 24: One step closer**

16:22 PM (Japan Time), Tuesday July the 4th…

"… Perfect! We're just one step away from completing the system… I've been looking forward to this day!"

"Yes, sir! 99.5% completion has been achieved: the final tune-out and simulations are all which is left."

Anderson, having lowered his tunic's hood, was working with the holographic screen generated by his armchair's computer: he looked thrilled and eager while Annihilator Man was saluting.

"Good! It can't take more than one or two days by now. I'll then try to see if I can approach Father and show him…" He muttered.

"Master's dream is coming to fruition, then. The progress has been smoother than we'd initially expected it to be, sir." Annihilator Man sounded excited.

"Well… Past and Future did a good job storming those guys off and hitting them hard before the police came in to finish the job. And Present managed to cut off the bank accounts of another of those groups of lowlifes so that they'll turn on each other before the police come in and deliver the _coup de grace_… We're helping society: and this is what makes us different from Father's Nebula. We don't intend to rule over society with fear and terror." Anderson muttered.

"Correct, sir. Such is our _raison d'être_, sir!" Annihilator Man confirmed.

"Let's resume working on this: I can't stand still having come so far. I'll set to it that it's finished and it becomes a reality." Anderson commanded.

"Yes, sir! I will start setting up the simulations, sir!"

Annihilator Man exited the capsule while Anderson leant back on the armchair and let out a sigh.

"I can do it…!" He muttered.

He rubbed his hands in excitement…

16:38 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So?"

"Nothing at all. They're toying with us."

"Obviously."

Zero, Shadow Man and Colonel met in one spot of the vast Reverse Cyber World next to a shaft entrance's leading somewhere: they looked annoyed at something.

"I want them to take us seriously. If they thought we're grunts, then they're very mistaken. A _ninja _is no grunt." Shadow Man scoffed.

"Yeah. I'm not an idiot, either." Zero grumbled.

"They're laughing at the Ameroupe Army's face." Colonel added.

"Heh, heh, heh… Finally… Worthy hunts…" A voice rang out.

They all jumped off the spot as eight swords fell down from somewhere and crossed through the spots their heads had been at: Axe Man dropped into the area from the shaft and brandished his weapon.

"You lowlife are Axe Man, then. Do you lowlife really think you can take us three on even with that tool?" Shadow Man questioned.

"I don't need to "take you on": I'll have enough with bringing your heads to Priest – sama." Axe Man grinned.

"Did he order you to?" Zero demanded.

"No. But they let us choose, so…"

"In short: this one is loose." Colonel muttered.

"Axe Raider!"

Axe Man warped and swung his axe across the air: both Zero and Colonel used their swords to block while Shadow Man feigned being hit and falling only to float up to Axe Man's back.

"Shadow Blade!"

"What!"

The quick attacks hit Axe Man's armor and left some dents on it before Shadow Man jumped over him as the turned around to swing the axe: the three of them saw their opening.

"Screen Divider!"

"Z – Saber!"

"Evil Source!"

The three attacks met their target and managed to leave some larger dents and hits on the armor but didn't manage to tear it yet: the group jumped away as the eight swords showed up again and flew out in each direction.

"Come!" Axe Man roared.

Some "ghosts" appeared and flew towards the trio: they quickly sliced them up and dispersed to dodge another rain of swords.

"Colonel Cannon!"

"_Shuriken _Needles!"

"Hra~h!"

Colonel and Shadow Man attacked Axe Man with their weapons while Zero built up energy on his left hand and shot an attack at Axe Man which impacted on his chest armor and bounced off while leaving a dent behind: Axe Man was suddenly in front of them and they brought up their swords to hold the axe at bay.

"How's this?" Axe Man taunted.

"Cheap." Shadow Man told him.

"Useless." Colonel shot back.

"Slow." Zero drily countered.

"Why, you…!" He roared.

"Colonel Cannon!"

"Evil Source!"

"Hra~h!"

They shot again at the wound Zero had inflicted earlier and made it deepen: it began to crack and a segment of the armor fell off: Zero quickly plunged his Z – Saber into it and Axe Man groaned.

"Grah! Dangerous…! Farewell!"

He dropped a flash bang grenade and escaped the area while the three of them sighed in relief.

"Well… He could give us trouble even if it was 3 VS 1… So he's no weakling." Shadow Man concluded.

"True… We'll have to watch out." Miyabi muttered.

"I need to report to Barrel Tai – sa. We'll meet again." Colonel told them with a sigh.

"Good. I'm off to meeting Mr. Rainon myself."

"The hunters disperse but will gather again to hunt for an even bigger prey next time." Shadow Man joked.

"Heh. That sounds fitting." Zero sounded amused.

"I'll agree with it even though I'm not the joker type." Colonel lifted his eyebrows in intrigue.

"We need to slay their foul perfume." Shadow Man added.

"How do you slay a "foul perfume", anyway?" Miyabi skeptically asked.

"Easy. We shower their heads with salty water."

"Oi, oi…" Miyabi looked surprised.

"My omens strike back."

Colonel managed a smile while Zero chuckled…

17:07 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Jeez. This patrol is so silly!"

"Complain to Shade Man – sama, Beast Man."

"Don't talk like you know everything, Sword Man!"

Darkloids Beast Man and Sword Man walked past an alley of an abandoned city and didn't spot "CF" Netto, "CF" Nelaus and Trill looking on: they quickly crossed through the avenue and entered another alley.

"O. K. Trill. Bring out your tricks." "CF" Netto whispered.

"We'll be watching!" "CF" Nelaus blinked him the right eye.

"Yay!"

Trill headed into an abandoned store and began to make loud noises: Darkloid Bubble Man ran towards it.

"Puku! What's this scandal, puku? Cold Man is stirring up something or what, puku?" He muttered.

He ran inside of the store and both Cross Fusion users looked towards it while grinning.

"Yea~h! Puku~! A monster, puku~! Run, puku~!"

Bubble Man ran out of the store like he was going to be slaughtered alive while Trill came out having a terrific-looking African mask on: he took it out and met again with the Net Saviors as they hid further into the street's unlit parts.

"… I'm serious, puku! Check it out, puku!"

"Hyu~h! If it's a joke then I'm gonna turn ya into _ice candy_!"

Darkloid Cold Man headed inside of the store and quickly ran out while looking panicked.

"Hyu~h! There's a velociraptor there~! Hyu~h! Run for it, hyu~h!" He uttered in pure terror.

"Good job, Trill!" Saito told him.

"Uncle Omega taught you well!" Isaac added.

"Yay! Trill's all-night-long prank show has begun!"

The trio moved on and crossed through a plaza having a statue of Shade Man: Trill drew some doodles on it and wrote "Bright Man" as a signature along the way: they hid nearby and soon spotted Gravity Man along with Star Man.

"Warning. Law infraction detected. Acquire culprits. Warning." Gravity Man intoned.

"What the…! Bright Man is suicidal or what?" Star Man cursed.

"Culprit ID confirmed: Darkloid Bright Man. Protocol: report directly to Shade Man – sama's mighty and magnificent persona." Gravity Man intoned next.

"Yeah. Let's go: heads will roll across the ground." Star Man rolled his eyes and sighed.

The duo vanished from sight and then came Bright Man himself along with Flash Man: they gasped upon seeing the doodles.

"Bright Man! You lowlife!" Flash Man uttered.

"_Check it out_! Someone's blaming the great me!" He countered with obvious annoyance.

"Bring it on!" Flash Man challenged.

"_Check it out_! Fine! Bright Beam!"

"Neon Light!"

"Plug Lariat!"

"Spark Palm!"

"Traitor!"

"Ugly~!"

The trio ran off and left them to quarrel as they crept close to the former port administration office building: they hid and spotted Burner Man and Spark Man standing watch.

"Che. Why are we supposed to watch this building?" Spark Man complained.

"Orders are orders: complain to Shade Man – sama." Burner Man dully told him.

"Yeah. And you know it all and I'm the grunt." Spark Man began to get annoyed.

"Obviously." He shrugged.

"Hmpf!" Spark Man looked elsewhere.

"Whatever." Burner Man shrugged again.

"GROA~H!"

Both gasped as a T – Rex suddenly loomed over them and looked ready to eat them up: they ran off while the T – Rex began to chase them: the trio was barely holding back their laughter as they ran inside of the office building and began to climb it up: they hid once they heard footsteps and spotted Plant Man and Video Man walking down the stairs.

"Did you hear that roar? It sounded abnormal." Plant Man looked suspicious.

"True. I doubt Spark Man doing that." Video Man muttered.

"Burn 'em all! These flowers are useless!" Burner Man's voice exclaimed from somewhere in the floor.

"Burner Man…! You lowlife…! My precious flowers…! You'll regret this with your existence!" Plant Man roared.

"Oho. This is good stuff for a one-shot!" Video Man grinned.

Plant Man ran off into the offices while Video Man followed: the trio kept on climbing up.

"Heh, heh! That recording proved useful!" Netto grinned.

"Yeah. "Friendly fire", so as to say…" Saito sounded amused.

"Yay! Trill's tricks are useful!" Trill grinned.

"Sure thing." Nelaus chuckled.

"They're unending!" Isaac added.

The trio reached the topmost floor and found the ragged flag waiting for them: Trill touched it and some 3D letters formed in the air:

MISSION COMPLETE!

The trio was "pulled" out of the Cyber World and into the real world where they were greeted with the results screen:

VR CUSTOMIZER

MISSION: PORT DISTRICT INFILTRATION

TIME: 05:35

RANK: B

USERS: H. NETTO, ROCK MAN, ISAAC, N. RAINON & TRILL

HAVE A NICE DAY!

The "Dimensional Area" and matrix powered down so they both picked their Link PETs and shook hands.

"_Good job_!" Netto congratulated.

"You guys too." Nelaus shrugged.

"Yay! Trill had fun!" Trill giggled.

"Heh, heh! We sure are experts at fooling Darkloids by now: they must be exasperated!" Isaac announced.

"I'd rather say at having them slaughter each other: Saito suggested.

The group laughed at the jokes…

04:18 AM (New York Time)…

"… Barrel Tai – sa? You're awake, sir?"

"I am. I lately have a lot of trouble sleeping."

Colonel was looking out through a PC's screen at a man standing inside of an apartment and looking out at the nighttime panorama.

He looked on his thirties and his eyes' irises were brown: he had some traces of a recently shaved beard too and jet black hair which reached past the neck.

His overall height was about a meter and ninety approximately.

He sported an open jacket with brown patches of camouflage along with a gray jumper and jeans along with shoes plus a dog-tag hanging from his neck.

His eyes were dull and serious.

"Dark Land continues to worry me: I'm sure they're seeking something and they use that story of the internal fighting as a cover to lower everyone's guards. But I'm not so easily fooled." Barrel muttered.

"I know, sir, but… It wouldn't be wise to push it, sir." Colonel suggested.

"You're right. I get fed up with my worries and force myself to stay awake at unlikely hours… I should sleep for some hours: nothing will change in such a small period of time, I hope." Barrel brought the right hand to his forehead.

"I'm surprised, though, that the extraterrestrial Xon' Edos hasn't done anything to try to stop me from travelling back and forth 20 years… Maybe he isn't allowed to or is amused." Colonel muttered.

"That's surely the case: and I'm sure that that Time Space Tower built in Utah will serve as a good facility to try to bring forth new Time Space theories but is unlikely to accomplish anything special. I should go sleep, anyway." Barrel shrugged.

_The first strike may come from an unexpected origin…_

22:22 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hello? It's me, sir. Yes, sir… It'd seem a major breakthrough is expected in the next one or two days, sir…"

An unidentified man wearing a high-neck navy blue raincoat along with a black cap and sunglasses was speaking with someone using a phone booth somewhere in Tokyo given how Tokyo Tower could be seen not too far from there.

"… Indeed, sir… They've started to get suspicious but the microphone hasn't been found yet, sir… But I'm sure they don't expect us to show up in a sudden manner, sir… The Net Saviors are not buying the tale about the internal fighting and know we are toying with them, sir…"

He waited to hear a reply and quickly nodded in understanding.

"Roger, sir… By your orders, sir… I will continue to check on the progress done by Rama, sir… When should I report next, sir? I see… Tomorrow at the same hour, then, sir… I will be using another cabin and the new number will come through the middle man… Good evening, General, sir…"

He replaced the receiver and headed out of the phone booth at a calm pace: he didn't spot a black Honda FRV parked nearby with the lights out and two figures watching him.

"Mr. Denpa, sir… That's the man, sir." One person announced.

"Heh. Classical phone booth use… But you stand out too much, my friend… And we'll soon know what your precious General plots, too! We, the 'Committee' won't lose sight of you…" Mr. Denpa chuckled.

"True, sir… We should be going, sir, before we're noticed."

"Truly, sir. Operation: Falcon has begun." The second man chuckled again.

"And the prey will be caught in the net…" Mr. Denpa sounded amused.

"Heh, heh, heh. Guess that. My Disastrous Arduous Trek will come out so until then ya better go find shelter… Heh, heh, heh… See ya~…"

"Hmpf. Twilight. Meddling around as usual… Whatever. Let's go."


	25. Chapter 25: Encounter

**Chapter 25: Encounter**

08:08 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday July the 5th…

"… Good morning, sir."

"Good morning. I have a meeting with a gentleman named Dr. Regal. Is he here?"

"Yes, sir. He is waiting in the undersea restaurant."

"Thank you very much."

"You're welcome, sir."

Anderson, wearing a black suit and tie along with brown shoes, walked past the reception of the Aquarius Hotel and headed for the elevators: he pressed the button and the right one opened so he stepped inside and breathed deeply as it began to descend.

"Nervous, sir?" Annihilator Man asked as he projected out of a black Link PET with his emblem.

"Of course. It's been over four years… Our second meeting. Many things have happened ever since then." Anderson sighed.

"I'm surprised he accepted the offer of a meeting, though…"

"We both had to meet face-to-face: it was inevitable. We both have many things to tell each other."

"Ah. I see, sir."

"And he didn't call for Net Police or anyone because this just concerns him as the person who inspired me."

"Ah. True, sir…" Annihilator Man saluted.

"Be gentle." Anderson commanded.

"Roger, sir!"

The elevator stopped and Anderson stepped into the main room of the undersea restaurant.

"Over there…"

He headed for the furthermost table in the south-east corner of the restaurant where he found Dr. Regal sitting on the seat behind it and looking calm.

"Dr. Regal – sama. It has been a long time." He politely bowed.

"Rick. You've grown…" Dr. Regal replied.

"Thank you very much, sir."

"Take a seat."

"Thank you, sir."

Anderson sat down and inhaled to then slowly exhale as if to shake the stress off him: he placed the Link PET on top of the table and then distractedly looked around the room.

"So this is why they call this place "Aquarius" Hotel… It's like you were in an aquarium." He muttered.

"True. Anyway… I guess you requested this meeting for an important reason apart from discussing your values and your evolution." Dr. Regal suspected.

"Yes, sir… There's a more important reason than that but I don't want to loophole the core of the question…"

"You've understood it, haven't you? All I taught you was mistaken. They weren't my ideals. They were imposed into me." Dr. Regal sighed.

"Yes, sir… That's why I've decided that all will be over by Friday. And Rama itself was not only a test for myself to see if I could come close to what Father did with Nebula but a place to hide as well to be able to continue my three-year-long research." Anderson confessed.

"That research into the Cyber World manipulation of "annihilation", you mean to say?"

"Well…" He trailed off.

"Or you've gone over that and sought to expand it?" Dr. Regal deduced next.

"Please have a look at this."

Anderson engaged the holographic screen: it displayed some graphs, blueprints and calculations which seemed to be very complex: Dr. Regal leant closer and began to read it: he suddenly gasped and quickly read the rest of it.

"Rick! T-this is…! Do you realize what this is?"

"I do, sir."

"T-this could be the next step in renewable energy producing methods, even…! It wouldn't take too much to implement and would be very cost effective when it came to production/selling ratio…!" Dr. Regal whispered to him.

"Incredible…!" Even Laser Man was awed.

"This is what was has motivated us to move on forward." Annihilator Man admitted.

"Impressive…! You must've spent long hours each day struggling to push it forward!" Dr. Regal whispered.

"Yes, sir… The reason I moved from Scotland to Japan was because I felt like I was being monitored and I didn't wish for my research to be stolen by someone… I firstly thought about MI6 but they wouldn't bother to steal something like this: then I began to suspect Dark Land's involvement into the matter, sir…" Anderson confessed.

"Aha-hah! I knew it: the reason Dark Land was so quiet is because they were aiming to get their hands on this research! They must want to try to sell it to Choina and make peaces with them to then emerge as a major coalition in Asia to challenge Ameroupe, Sharo Nation and the European Union… That's how it is!" Dr. Regal guessed.

"That was exactly what I had calculated: thus I built Rama to have a solid wall to protect me." Anderson sighed.

"Rick. I know what happened to you a few months after we firstly met and that you're living in Edinburg, but… Your problems didn't end there. Am I right?"

"Yes, sir… I kept on being bullied at the institute because I always got first place in all exams given my advanced intelligence and those others who wouldn't accept they hadn't studied enough because they'd been wasting their time trying to court the girl students or go into parties. One even tried to have some thugs abduct me but a teacher overheard his phone conversation: he was expelled and convicted for attempted abduction two years ago… In short: even though my aunt _did_ care for me, I couldn't find someone in whom to trust the extent of my research. Thus, I designed Annihilator Man to test my first research and have a confident." Rick narrated.

"You've had a difficult life, Rick… I can see that you've closed into yourself and tried to handle on your own…"

"I know, sir… And I really should've researched about your status: I've spent the last two years drawings plans to break you out of confinement in vain by now…" Anderson let out.

"That would've been reckless, Rick." Dr. Regal negated with the head in disagreement.

"I know, sir, but… I couldn't get the idea off my head, sir."

"Rick. The past is gone. Focus on the present. What's your plan for ending Rama?" Dr. Regal asked.

"Tomorrow… The remaining three members will be assigned targets… And on Friday I'll challenge Rock Man to try to defeat Annihilator Man. If it were to happen, which I don't deny it is a highly probable outcome… I will turn myself in and be punished: I've stolen money off the ECB and other banks, after all, and faked motorbike licenses..."

"I see… Then I won't stop you." Dr. Regal told him.

They didn't spot a waiter working on cleansing the table behind him: he looked on his forties, with a bald head and brown eye irises.

He was currently smiling and a golden tooth could be seen on his upper row of teeth.

"What might _you_ be doing, _Comrade_?" A cold voice with Sharo accent rang out close by.

The waiter gasped as a man walked over to him.

This man looked as being on his late forties: his hair was grey and parts of it fell down in the front of the face and he seemed to be missing his left eye as well.

He was dressed in a grey army uniform, although the area around the sleeves and neck was colored in a reddish patch: he had a distinction on the right side of the uniform just underneath the right shoulder.

He was also holding a strange artifact on his right hand which seemed to be some kind of customized dagger: it had a central handle shaped like a cylinder: two curved daggers sprouted from each end, with each facing an opposite direction: some strange patterns were carved across each dagger's surface.

"Major Zenbon: 4th Department." The newcomer announced.

"W-what are you talking about?" Zenbon feigned ignorance.

"It is futile to resist: these two Net Police detectives will escort you to the station to be questioned. You have entered the country in an illegal manner to begin with, _Comrade_. And we know you work for the "General", too." The newcomer calmly listed.

"Ah! That man…! That golden tooth…! He was the one following me night after night in Edinburg!" Anderson gasped as he turned around.

"Hum. Colonel Talos caught him red-handed…"

Two Net Police detectives came in and escorted Zenbon out while he cursed under his breath: Colonel Talos formed a smile and then looked at the other two.

"Good morning, gentlemen."

"We meet for the first time, sir. I'm Rick Anderson, sir."

"Good morning, Colonel."

"Dr. Regal: that individual had been following you and spying on you for the last eight days. We managed to ID him thanks to that prominent golden tooth, and, like _Comrade_ Anderson said, he's followed him from Scotland under orders of the "General": the leader of Dark Land." Colonel Talos explained.

"So that quietness and talk about internal fighting were staged from the very top to try to make us feel overconfident that Dark Land was useless by now and they then come from an unexpected direction…" Dr. Regal calmly analyzed.

"Correct, gentlemen. _Comrade_ Anderson: given how you are willing to stop this affair by your own will, we shall not move a finger regarding your persona nor we shall demand the IDs of your agents. I do suppose there won't be any complains." Colonel Talos addressed him.

"Of course not, sir… And I will be true to my word. Eh… You wouldn't mind allowing Past to cooperate in disbanding those criminals, though? It's what fuels him, so…" Anderson suggested.

"We wouldn't: he knows how to hold back and does his job in a neat and efficient manner." Colonel Talos replied.

"Ah… Thank you very much, sir…"

"However… _Comrade_ Anderson: do you know any form of self-defense or carry any object which can be legally employed in self-defense occasions? That man was most likely waiting to assault you and steal your schematics, so…" Colonel Talos brought up.

"I foresaw it: I carry a defensive spray and a taser. I looked up Japan's legislation and they are both legit to be used for self-defense upon being attacked by a hostile assaulter."

"Good enough, _Comrade_. We will meet again soon enough, I would imagine. Good morning." Colonel Talos nodded in approval.

He headed out of the room while both Dr. Regal and Anderson sighed in relief.

"… That was close. Dark Land is really desperate to try to regain some credibility after the Desert Wraiths affair and how the Subspace managed to rescue two Net Saviors captured by them under their noses without anyone figuring how they got in and out of the country without a "Dimensional Converter"..." Dr. Regal muttered.

"Yes, sir… But I was expecting such a move." Anderson replied.

"Some breakfast will shake off the bad mood. Waiter! Please bring us the menus."

"Yes, sir. Here you have, sir."

A waiter brought them two menus and they calmly read through them before nodding in approval.

"I will have scrambled eggs with bacon and an orange juice."

"Bring me a _croissant_ and a decaf coffee." Dr. Regal ordered.

"Roger, sir."

"So, Rick… What are you going to do with that research?"

"I would like to see a day where it could be co-published, sir… Your name would help promote it, sir, since you designed the Super Energy system for "Dimensional Converters"..." Anderson confessed.

"Hum… That's true, but… You alone came up with it: I don't want to look like I want to take the spotlight from you, Rick. You deserve recognition of your own efforts. I will _recommend_ it and list you as my disciple instead: how's that like?" Dr. Regal proposed.

"Ah… That would be perfect, sir." Anderson looked surprised.

"Rick. I _do_ care about you. You're honest with yourself but don't try to hide behind a brick wall: you deserve going into the front line."

"I understand, sir."

"Your orders, gentlemen." The waiter announced.

He deposited the meals and then left as both silently ate their respective breakfasts: Annihilator Man and Laser Man began a conversation.

"So… You were inspired by my own design?" Laser Man guessed.

"Correct. However… What interested Anderson – sama was the system to output energy. Atomic Network's Plasma Man just sought to imitate the role and was designed to have higher mobility and speed instead of being designed to handle a specific output." Annihilator Man admitted.

"Ah… I really needed this breakfast: I've woken up at 06:00 AM out of nervousness and wasn't calm enough to eat anything myself. I find it somewhat ironic, though, Father… We met at a hotel and we encounter again in another hotel." Anderson muttered before making a point.

"True. The world can be so small sometimes." Dr. Regal looked amused at the argument.

"In fact… It reminds me of the title for the 19th James Bond film which premiered in 1999: _The World is not Enough_." Anderson even added.

"True. Maybe you have a secret gadget in that Casio wristwatch."

"Please, sir… My clock is perfectly normal, sir." Anderson didn't seem to like the joke.

"You're too rigid, Rick. You should try taking some humor in and looking at things from a different angle." Dr. Regal advised.

"Eh… I try, sir, I do."

"I won't push you: but you deserve to have a life, too, Rick. You can't pretend to have tossed it away but there's no such thing: life is there and you can't ignore it: you will only manage to close into yourself and become mistrusting of everything and everyone." Dr. Regal warned him with a sigh.

"… I understand, sir…" Anderson nodded in understanding.

"Good."

"Eh… Dr. Regal – sama… Are you… eh… _content_… with your current status, sir? I mean…" Anderson timidly asked.

"I am. And so is Yuriko: she finally was able to meet back with her sister after over 15 years of separation. She even was given the opportunity to work as a Net Savior, too." Dr. Regal quickly replied.

"I knew it, yet… Eh… I apologize. I spoke about unnecessary things. I shall not offer any excuses." Anderson quickly changed his attitude.

"You needn't, Rick."

"… Do you know somewhere secure where I could store the central portion of the research? Even if Dark Land were to rob it from me, they wouldn't be able to develop anything from the main concepts and economical calculations." Anderson suddenly asked.

"Hmmm… I suppose Mr. Vadous would do: you saw how he doesn't store anything on the Cyber World and his real-world HQ is practically impossible to storm by any means. He will understand and be content of your decisions, Rick. He is a man like me: he committed evil in the past yet he sought to start anew and do his best to amend for the damage his superiors caused and continue to cause: that which you and Past fight against." Dr. Regal explained.

"I see… He must've seen a lot of victims and mustn't wish for more of them to happen: thus he's mobilized assets through the world but he doesn't believe himself to be in control of everything: he has his limitations like any man… He wants to bring forth stability…"

"Correct."

"Then I trust him to keep this information secure… Are you escorted while in your displacements, Father?" Anderson asked.

"I am: the "Committee" drives me around."

"Perfect, then… I will transmit the portion of the information: I will merely spend the time with more mundane activities."

"Alright."

Anderson transferred a file from his PET to Dr. Regal's one and he then stood up: Dr. Regal also did so and they shook hands.

"Thank you for allowing me to meet again, Dr. Regal – sama, sir. If all goes well, we shall see each other by Friday, sir." He thanked him.

"Be careful, Rick." He warned.

"Yes, sir. Goodbye, sir."

Anderson headed out while Dr. Regal signaled for the waiter: he brought the bill and Dr. Regal calmly paid it while leaving the commission: he headed towards the elevators.

"Dr. Regal – sama. What did you think of it, sir?" Laser Man asked.

"You saw him: he's not the young innocent child I once knew. He's grown too fast and tries to act the adult although his doubts torment him. I do hope he can find a good way of ending everything." Dr. Regal replied.

"I see."

"Let's go hand this to Mr. Vadous as quickly as possible: the final phase of this so-called "conflict" is about to start."

"Roger."

Dr. Regal used the elevator and got to the ground floor: he headed outside of the hotel and sat on a stone to hear both the waves' rumor as well as the seagulls: he didn't see Twilight looking on from close by.

"… Rick. I know you can do it: you can bring this to a halt." He muttered.

He sighed and rummaged into his pants' right pocket to take out a printed copy of the photo depicting his and Anderson's meeting.

"You've suffered too much and it's shaken you even though you try to keep it under the surface. But once you realize that you can have a normal person's life then all will become better: make me proud, Rick. The son I never had…" He muttered next.

Twilight snickered and ran off and Dr. Regal merely sighed…


	26. Chapter 26: Scorching Flames

**Chapter 26: Scorching Flames**

09:13 AM (Japan Time), Thursday July the 6th…

"… Okay. The only one who'd ever bother to set up this scenery in the middle school's server has to be our Flame – Attribute friend."

"Welcome to the Bridge of Khazad-dûm! Mwroh, wrhoh, wrhoh!"

Blood Shadow was standing in a space which had been redesigned to be a recreation of the Moria Mines in _The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring_ film: he'd begun stepping into the bridge and looking around the largely unlit space when a familiar voice rang out.

"Balrog. Durin's Bane. Corrupted Maiar. Servant of Morgoroth AKA Melkor… Show your pixel-full hide." Blood Shadow called out with obvious sarcasm to his voice.

"As you wish!"

Balrog flew down and hovered some centimeters above the bridge while brandishing a long iron-hot metallic chain about two meters long: the unlit environment made his flames shine with unusual creepiness to it and his figure seemed to be cloaked on the blackness itself: a looming shadow was being projected and he looked down (literally) on Blood Shadow.

"Your boots are older than your gramps." Blood Shadow sarcastically told him as he aimed the built-in shotgun at him.

"Good job, bloody shadow!" He taunted.

"Very original."

"We will battle until the bridge collapses and we plunge into the icy lakes beneath this abyss! Then we will climb the Endless Stair and battle atop Zirik-zigil to the end!" Balrog exclaimed.

"Cut the ripped off speech: fight!"

"Come!"

"Battle!"

"War Drums!"

"Huh? What?"

Two drums materialized in the air and began to play a military-like music which echoed around the space: shrieks ran out and a horde of both goblins and orcs came running down the stairs on the north side followed by large trolls.

"They will take care of you even if you manage to defeat me! Flame Tornado!"

Balrog beat his wings as air currents began to blow across the vast room and some of the flames were extended downstairs, across the bridge's edges and, finally, into Balrog's body: a tornado began to form and encompass both fighters thus limiting their space to maneuver.

"Mwroh, hoh, hoh! Evil Chain!"

"Sword Fighter X!"

Blood Shadow drew a red curved sword with a saw-like edge on his left wrist and used it to jump across the air and cut through segments of the chain: he then placed his shotgun's energy-filled barrel into the upper chest armor and shot a close-quarters attack.

"Charge Shotgun Shot!"

"Guo~h!"

Blood Shadow jumped away and Balrog roared as he clutched the damaged segment of his armor: he then chuckled.

"Good blast! But it wasn't enough… Priest – sama improved the armor through carbon chemical structures research! You just deliver 180 HP of damage out of my base 1400… Heh, heh, heh…" He announced.

"Crap. And that was one of my strongest "default" attacks, too… Guess this will be painful."

"But of course! You! Grunts! Stay there and don't move! Get it? This is personal!" Balrog called out.

Some grunts and yells rang out which seemed to be part of the answer: Balrog closed his arms and began to spin around his axis until the flames engulfed his body: he then shot forward and rammed into Blood Shadow thus setting him on fire.

"G-Geyser!"

The water evaporated the flames and Blood Shadow gasped as the chain coiled around his body and he was set in flames again: Balrog laughed and tugged the chain to suspend Blood Shadow over the abyss.

"Farewell!"

"Not yet…! Area Steal!"

Blood Shadow suddenly warped and appeared behind the enemy: he placed the shotgun's barrels on the rear armor and shot there.

"Charged Shotgun Shot!"

"Futile! 180 HP extra… 360 HP… Nothing! You have suffered close to 500 HP by my hands and your total HP is 2100!" Balrog laughed.

"Che. Anderson wants to make you guys be serious and deadly to go down in urban legends as fearsome opponents."

"Catching up, hunter? The hunter got hunted!" He laughed again.

"I'm getting fed up with this. Recovery 300, Dynamic Wave! Let's put out your flames!"

He began to spin around his axis and produced four consecutive waves which hit Balrog one after the other: his flames evaporated but he looked indifferent to the fact.

"That was nothing… Barely 200 HP! I haven't lost even 600 HP yet, I'll have you know! Crunching Claws! Try to dodge this as much as you want!"

"Crap."

He opened his claws and quickly began to cut through the air and tried to hit Blood Shadow: he always jumped and ducked.

"Useless!"

Blood Shadow kept on being forced to recoil: he reached the edge of the bridge but was pushed back in by some of goblins: Balrog's claws left wounds on his body and he growled as he jumped over the mole and landed behind him: some black spots came out of his body and began to heal his wounds at a quick rate.

"My auto-repair nanomachines are useful… Let's try something else! Battle Chip, Count Bomb, White Web!" He muttered.

He jumped into Balrog's damaged rear armor portion slightly beneath the neck: he attached a Count Bomb there and added the White Web to keep it glued there: he then shot towards the crowd: it replied shooting out arrows in masse which bounced off Balrog's armor.

"What foolish bothersome grunts! Behave yourselves! This place is my climax!" He cursed.

The Count Bomb went off and Balrog roared as the armor got further damage on it: he turned around looked annoyed.

"Why, you…! 250 HP of damage: 880 HP of total damage! But I still have enough to destroy you!" He cursed.

"Bite me, Durin's Bane."

The crowd yelled and began to shoot arrows coated in flames: Balrog grumbled and turned around to emit a large roar: the crowd fell silent and stepped back out of fear.

"Melee Clash!"

Balrog rammed into Blood Shadow using his armored feet and hit his stomach area: Blood Shadow growled and jumped over the air to try to attack the weakened rear spot: Balrog saw it coming so he flew skywards and Blood Shadow had to land in the bridge: Balrog then began to shine with flames again and the crowd yelled in excitement: Blood Shadow grumbled something under his breath.

"Death Flames!"

Large spheres of flames began to rain down from above and cut off both ends of the bridge: they began to expand and burn across its surface thus leaving Blood Shadow with very little space to move.

"Damn. Let's take this to new heights." He cursed.

He ignited the jets on his boots' heels and hovered towards Balrog: he'd draw a Fire Blade and a Flame Sword which were burning with unusual fierceness.

"Be sliced up!" Balrog laughed.

"We'll see 'bout that."

"What?" He grumbled.

"Thunderbolt Blade!"

Blood Shadow drew a thunderbolt-shaped blade on his right arm and jumped on top of Balrog: he hit the weakened torso armor four times and before holding the blade up and plunging it into the crack to further damage it: a thunderbolt rained down from above and hit Balrog.

"Che. 300 HP drained… 1180 HP of total damage… Slightly over 200 HP left before the 2nd phase… Whatever." He grumbled.

"Charged shotgun shot!"

"What!"

The blast did finish breaking up the abused segment of the armor and Balrog roared: the mobs stirred and began shooting arrows while the trolls grabbed blocks of stone and threw them towards them as well: Blood Shadow hid behind Balrog's mole and he was bombarded instead.

"Stop or I'll slaughter all of you idiots!" He commanded.

The crowd quickly pulled back while he seemingly calculated the total damage: it seemed to be high given his panting and his slow movements by now.

"Crap. Another 180 HP…! 1360 HP of total damage!" He cursed.

"Heh, heh, heh."

"Annihilator Chip, Slot In!" Past announced.

"So! You're Blood Shadow. We'll see if you live up to your reputation while facing an unleashed beast!" Annihilator Man taunted through the remotely controlled Balrog.

"Sure. Tell that to Bond, too."

"Hmpf. Flame Serpent!"

Flames travelled and coiled around Balrog's arms to form the shape of fiery snakes with blood red eyes: they then shot out while forming a DNA-like structure with both heads aiming for Blood Shadow's chest: they hit him but a log appeared on his place and four _shuriken_ hit Balrog from behind thus breaking the punished rear armor segment and harming him.

"What! 150 damage… 1510. Bah. Got a lot…" Annihilator Man muttered with a hint of annoyance.

"O~i~! Ya bunch of jerks! Hit me!" Blood Shadow taunted the mob.

They got excited again and began to bombard them at random with arrows and stones as well as some lances and short swords: a great deal of them just bounced off Balrog's armor and others hit his open wound.

"Che. 80 damage… 1590. Useless." He scoffed.

"Charged shotgun shot!"

"Uo~h!"

Balrog turned around and hissed something as Blood Shadow blew the smoke off his shotgun.

"The rear wound…! I keep on forgetting it! 200 HP… 1790 HP drained insofar, but that's just the tip of the iceberg." Annihilator Man muttered with some annoyance.

"Oi! Here, here! Hit me! _You suck_!"

"Stop!"

The crowd didn't hear the order and attacked again: Balrog was forced to shield himself and Blood Shadow took the chance to plunge his red sword into the rear wound again: Balrog shook him off by setting his body in flames and sounded rather angered by now: the crowd stopped and some more of them began to pull out as well.

"You idiots' attacks and that guy's attacks have taken 380 HP off! I've lost 2170 HP insofar… Behave yourselves, you impatient mob!" Annihilator Man yelled at them.

They shrieked and more of them ran out leaving only a small bunch about thirty strong and only lower-rank goblins having knives of all sizes and forms but not looking extremely efficient, either.

"It'd seem your fan club is suffering cuts, too."

"Very funny!"

"Hmmm… Your current status guarantees a 40% damage reduction: I've only lowered 10% respect the usual one. But exposed spots get the full usual damage."

"What are you up to?" Annihilator Man demanded.

"Ask M."

"M? Bond's boss?"

"Yeah. She will stare at you like you were a statue for a half an hour to test if you have what it takes."

"Grjftx!" He grumbled.

"Heh, heh, heh. Oh. True, true. I ordered a Vesper cocktail for your Operator to celebrate his disbanding of a dangerous bunch of sadists the other day around."

"Anderson – sama is underage!" Annihilator Man growled.

"Ah. Sorry. I forgot. I was mistaking him with Takaisho, you know, Atomic Network's leader… Since you're also inspired by Laser Man then it's no wonder I made such a mistake."

"Balrog Ramming!"

Balrog spun around his axis and shot forward towards Blood Shadow: he suddenly began charging up energy and tossed a black sphere of energy into the middle of the air: it expanded into a spinning vortex which began to suck everything around it: Blood Shadow suddenly propelled forward and shot past Balrog while cutting the air with his red sword: the vortex collapsed behind him in a brutal explosion which swept the air and Balrog roared as he collapsed upon the stairway.

"That ought to have dealt around 300 HP… Around 2500 HP drained with my Black End Galaxy… But with that armor I won't get anywhere anytime soon."

"Huff… Huff… I see… The classic "taunt" trick… But I can stay connected for another five minutes… Enough to defeat you since I still have some deadly skills in this body…!" Annihilator Man muttered.

"Crap. Let's get out second trump card ready."

"Sorcerer's Curse!"

Balrog's body began to emit a purplish glow and the whole atmosphere's temperature increased: Blood Shadow landed on the bridge and got ready for anything.

"Object of the curse: Blood Shadow!" He announced.

A reddish fog surrounded Blood Shadow and he uttered something as some small flames formed around his body and he tried to put them out.

"I drain you half of the total damage you've done to me: 1250! Thus, you've lost around 1600 HP by now! And you'll lose another 200 each minute!" Annihilator Man announced.

"Crap. I gotta cut it quick… Recovery 300, Recovery 200!"

There was a buzz and the flames increased: Blood Shadow cursed and jumped to the south end of the bridge to roll across the ground and put the flames out once and for all: they did reform immediately, though, and increased in intensity.

"Fool. You'll now lose 230 HP every minute! Four minutes left of my time limit… Balrog's Breath!"

"Gotta risk it! Red Gaia Eraser!"

Blood Shadow formed two saw-like disks form in the air parallel to each of Balrog's shoulders: they moved forward and backwards in 45 º angle formations while shooting red beams of energy: Blood Shadow built up energy and shot a beam from his own shotgun thus combining with the earlier two and forming a dome-shaped explosion which swept the terrain around Balrog: he roared and the enemies close by were annihilated by the attack.

"Did that do it?" He wondered.

The explosion cleared and Balrog had collapsed into the ground while most of his armor was intact: he looked out of energies.

"…2780 HP drained… I can still fight: two minutes left…" Annihilator Man muttered.

Blood Shadow suddenly landed on top of him and plunged his red sword into the torso wound: Balrog was logged out and the mobs ran away in panic: Blood Shadow's flames vanished as well.

"Too close…! Luckily… He miscalculated my HP: it's 2250, not 2100. Thus I was able to survive even at 2060 HP drained…"

"Good job." Past told him.

"Whoa. You're actually praising me?" Blood Shadow whistled in surprise.

"I'd always wished to see your fighting skills: they were no joke, as I suspected, Blood Shadow." Past replied.

"Hmmm…"

"All will be made clear one day. Until then… Farewell."

Blood Shadow shrugged and headed towards the open doorway in the south without seemingly caring about the mobs: the bridge exploded and most of them fell into the abyss while Blood hummed a tune …

9:29 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Yo!"

"Whoa. Blood. You look like you've been in a war."

"Heh, heh! As expected!"

"Yeah. Guess so."

Blood Shadow returned to the Hikari house and was greeted by Sigma and the twins: he scratched the back of his helmet.

"What's picking me is that the guy named Past seems to have been waiting to see my skills for a while… Maybe he's been investigating ever since a while back." He muttered.

"Hmmm… Or maybe he's closer to us than we'd imagine." Saito suddenly suggested.

"What? He may be someone we know?" Netto gasped.

"I can discard our closest friends: he might be someone we barely know from sight in the institute and not necessarily of our class, either. They could've seen us at the coming or leaving." Saito added.

"Should we ask Mr. Denpa to check it out?" Sigma suggested.

"No. Let's try figuring it out ourselves."

"OH YEAH! LET ZA BALROG HIT ZA MORIA!"

"Cloud Man. He's taunting us from outside of the firewall."

"Heh, heh, heh, heh… Have fun while you can with those clever fellows."

"Twilight. About time your voice rang out." Netto drily countered.

"Or should we say Ocelot's voice?"

"Heh, heh, heh, heh. Let's see how well you fare against the next one…"

"OH YEAH! LET ZA BEST HIT ZA WORSE!"

"Mwah, hah, hah. Let's ignore them. Time for some have fun and thrill!"


	27. Chapter 27: Knight & Demon

**Chapter 27: Knight & Demon**

10:08 AM (Japan Time), Thursday July the 6th…

"… Hum… Mail. For me? Oho. Our Brutus wants to challenge me. And Cloud Man already left: guess he got tired of laughing. Mwah, hah, hah."

"Really?"

"Whoa!"

A mail had come in and Sigma looked amused once he read the contents: Blood Shadow and the twins were surprised.

"O. K.! If Commander Omega drops by tell 'im I'll be busting Brutus until he's turned into mere dust!"

"And the wind will make it fly out, too." Saito made a strange smile.

"Oi, oi… Don't make that face, Saito - niisan! You scare me!"

"Oh? Do you want a cold shower next time, then?" Saito joked.

"No."

"You want it hot, then."

"Ain't it obvious?"

"Heh, heh. Guess so." Saito shrugged.

"Sigma! You're passing your weird humor into Saito – niisan!" Netto grumbled at him.

"Mwah, hah, hah… I'm a sneaky genius."

"Sneaky genius… Really…" Blood Shadow didn't find it amusing.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Well! Guess I'll be going before Brutus tries to behead Caesar! See ya!"

"Good luck!"

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Thanks! I'll bring back a piece of his armor as a _souvenir_!" Sigma told them.

10:15 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmpf. You came, Demon."

"Oi, oi! Twilight IS the Demon King guy."

Sigma had met Axe Man inside of a Cyber World grimly decorated like it was a battlefield of the European middle ages: blood, human corpses, horse corpses and weapons were scattered around along with crows: the skies were almost black given the low position of the sun and several clouds were building up: Axe Man seemed unimpressed while Sigma had his permanent smile.

"It'd seem that ya are fond of dramatic entrances, though! We've already guessed your Operator is a college teacher somewhere who teaches European history." Sigma grinned.

"Hmpf. Whatever. Fight!" Axe Man shot back.

"Come at full power!" Sigma challenged by assuming a fighting pose and brandishing his sword.

"Axe Raider!"

Axe Man suddenly jumped off the ground and began to swing his axe around: Sigma brought his sword up and blocked the attack before grinning and glancing at his chest emblem.

"Demon Laser!"

"What!"

Sigma's eyes shone red and he projected two thick laser beams which hit the chest emblem and inflicted some damage: Axe Man suddenly tried to punch the spheroid on Sigma's chest but was deflected by an hexagon-shaped barrier: Sigma jumped up into the air and suddenly kicked Axe Man's face to then plunge his sword into the upper torso: a slight crack formed on it and Sigma jumped back before Axe Man could try to hit him with one of his swords.

"You lowlife! 200 HP in the opening round…!" He hissed.

"Mwah, hah, hah… I'm faster than I look!" Sigma chuckled.

"Sword Dance!"

The eight swords appeared and flew towards Sigma: he picked one and used it to deflect the seven other before ducking and hitting the earlier crack with it: the borrowed sword shattered and Sigma jumped away from the opponent.

"Did you really think I'd design my weapons to be able to hurt me?" He challenged.

"That sounds like a rip-off from General Grievous!" Sigma grinned.

"Che. Sword Rain!"

The eight swords fell down from the sky towards Sigma but he hovered above the ground and punched their hilts to make them fall in different spots: he then aimed his left forearm at Axe Man and built up energy on it for some seconds.

"Demon Rings!"

Four tall white-colored energy rings shot out: Axe Man tried to block them with one of his swords but it got broken and the four rings bombarded him: Sigma used the distraction to punch the crack on his upper torso to expand on it before Axe Man tried to counter.

"Each ring delivers 80 HP of damage: so ya suffered 320 plus 60 from my punch: 380! Sum it to the earlier 200 and you get 580!" Sigma listed with a broad grin.

"You lowlife~!" Axe Man roared.

"Heh! Warp Attack!"

Sigma suddenly warped and dropped down from above while holding his sword parallel to the ground: the hit made Axe Man roll forward before he stood up and hissed under his breath.

"160 HP of damage: ya sum up 740 HP of battle damage! Ya thought Rock Man was good? I can be terrific, too!"

"Why, you…! Bothersome foolish idiot!" He cursed.

"Mwah, hah, hah… That sounds more like a Darkloid!" Sigma taunted.

"Hra~h! Forward Strike!"

Axe Man suddenly ran towards him while aiming a spear atop his axe at Sigma's chest: he let him closer and he then tossed an Ice Cannon Ball at the ground: it froze and the loss of friction made Axe Man slide across the ground only to crash with a blank tombstone and get half-stuck there: Sigma then drew a Super Vulcan.

"Super Vulcan!"

The rounds hit Axe Man from behind and he groaned as he tried to break free: he shattered the tombstone and turned around while looking extremely annoyed.

"That should've amounted about 300 HP: 1040 HP of battle damage! And I'm still unhurt." Sigma grinned.

"I'll slice your neck! Come! Dead Spirits!"

The Dead Spirits (white-colored standard Navis with armor, lances, swords and shields) surrounded Sigma: there were about ten of them in total and all were aiming their lances at him: they then charged and hit Sigma who didn't seem to care.

"Spinning Attack!"

He spun upon his axis while lowering his sword: it cut through the chest of the "Dead Spirits" Navis and deleted them as he hovered above the air and took out an Air Hockey Battle Chip.

"Go~!"

The Air Hockey travelled across the iced floor and began to bounce off some of the corpses and stones thus increasing its speed and hitting Axe Man from different angles: he tried to intercept it but it always managed to hit him from an unexpected angle: Sigma chuckled while Axe Man was getting infuriated.

"Total: 8 hits! 60 HP per hit: 480 HP total: sums up to 1520 HP of battle damage! It'd seem Bond will be jumping into the stage soon!" Sigma grinned.

Axe Man roared and hit the iced floor with the axe: it cracked and was restored to normal as Axe Man tried to hit Sigma: he used his left palm to hold the weapon at bay and then kicked the stomach area to disorient him before using his head to attack the crack: it worsened.

"60 HP of damage: 1580 HP lost by now! Bond is about to make his cool trademark entrance!" Sigma grinned.

"Hra~h!"

Axe Man managed to hit Sigma's upper torso with the axe and it got embedded there: Sigma shrugged and calmly pulled it out using the left forearm as the black spots came out and repaired the wound.

"Enough, Axe Man. Annihilator Man – sama will take over." Present commanded.

"Roger."

"Annihilator Chip, Slot In!"

The usual white glow appeared and Annihilator Man let out a sigh of resignation.

"Axe Man tends to get nervous too much: I'll be more cool-headed. Get ready, Titan!" Annihilator Man challenged.

"Come at full power!" Sigma challenged back.

"Catapult Dive!"

A medieval heavy catapult appeared: Axe Man jumped on its canister and it shot him across the air while building up kinetic energy: he crashed where Sigma was at but a cloud of smoke formed and four _shuriken_ rained down: Annihilator Man gasped and looked behind him to see Sigma whistling a tune and looking elsewhere.

"_Kawarimi_!"

"Heh, heh, heh…"

"Hmpf! Bothersome clever guy!" Annihilator Man scoffed.

"It's about to rain storm troopers." Sigma taunted.

"Very funny! Iron Fists!"

Axe Man jumped across the air and tried to hit Sigma with both punches: Sigma merely used his head to hit the cracked segment of the armor again and then grabbed the right forearm to whip Axe Man around to finally toss him against a puddle: he fell there and soon stood up while looking for Sigma: he suddenly dropped down from above and hit him with the sword before setting him on flames.

"This should amount to another 200 HP… Plus the _kawarimi_, it amounts to 350 HP… 1930 HP lost insofar: but ya still have a lot to kick on. I've lost 250 out of my 2500 HP: 10%." Sigma calculated.

"Hmpf. No math will save you, Sigma!" Annihilator Man told him.

"And no gadget will save Past from being unmasked!" Sigma shot back.

"You won't be able to!"

"We will!"

"Brag while you can!"

"Joke while you can!"

"This guy…!"

"This impatient guy…"

"Take this! Sword Cross!"

The eight swords formed four pairs of two and shot as if they were scissors towards Sigma: he calmly tossed them away with his left forearm and then tossed a Magma Seed at Axe Man's feet: he sank on it and tried to escape.

"A-Area Steal!"

He managed to warp out only to land upon a patch of ice and slid across it before being met by a volley of punches to his upper torso: the castigated armor finally gave in and Sigma quickly dropped the Giga Count Bomb Program Advance inside of it before jumping away.

"Guo~h!"

The large explosion greatly damaged the opponent given how it was from the inside and Sigma chuckled as Axe Man collapsed into his knees while panting.

"Hah! 690 HP of damage! 2590 HP lost insofar! Another 600 to butt, though! Mwah, hah, hah, hah!" Sigma chuckled.

"Bothersome meddling guy!" Annihilator Man roared.

"Come at full power!" Sigma taunted.

"Why, you…!"

"The end!"

Sigma suddenly tossed a Grass Seed at Axe Man's feet followed by another Magma Seed: the 2X combo inflicted further damage to Axe Man as he tried to escape the boiling pool of magma: his armor's integrity was clearly deteriorating by now.

"That should've done about 440 HP… 3030 HP lost: 170 HP left! I'm a genius!" Sigma grinned.

"Che… Are we weak?" Annihilator Man cursed.

"Not really, but… We improve! You guys also have some years' experience, but… Since bad mood is what fuels ya guys then it's no wonder you don't end up well. Atomic Network tried to rush it up and failed."

"So that's how it is…" Priest muttered.

"Ah! Priest – sama: do you believe on it, sir?"

"We'll discuss it later. Finish the battle." Priest replied.

"Roger!"

"Come!" Sigma taunted.

"Cursed Axe! Purple Meteors!"

Some meteors suddenly bombarded the area around Sigma and Axe Man hit him with the axe on his chest although he didn't manage to inflict much damage to the armor: Sigma calmly knocked on his forehead to dizzy him and then jumped away.

"Well, well… I got 200 HP of damage myself, so I've lost 450 HP out of 2500… Close to 20%... Not bad." Sigma muttered.

"Be cursed!"

Axe Man tried to bring down the axe to aim for Sigma's forehead but he simply grabbed it and hit Axe Man's chest emblem: it glowed with a purple light and he had to step back while clutching it.

"Damn. The curse backfired! I'll lose 70 HP per minute!" He cursed.

"And you've lost 50 because of your attack, so… 120 HP left to ya."

"Not yet! Purple Meteors!"

The meteors rained down again but Sigma merely bounced some of them off around the area while Axe Man tried to hit him with two swords: they shattered upon trying to hit Sigma and he shrugged.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… A full minute has passed, ugly! 70 HP lost and 50 left! The final blow! Hra~h!"

Sigma plunged his sword into the chest emblem: Axe Man was logged out and the whole scenery disappeared to reveal a normal Cyber World: Sigma grinned and set the sword vertically aiming at the ground.

"Hmpf. Farewell." Present dryly announced.

"No grudges, Present." Priest commanded.

"See ya." Sigma grinned

"OH YEAH! LET ZA AXE HIT ZA SIGMA! Mwah, hah, hah! We've already collected the battle data we wanted! Glory to Neo Gospel! Mwah, hah!"

10:33 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hullo!"

"Hello."

Sigma crossed the Hikari house firewall and was met by Blood Shadow: he was checking up something using a holographic screen while sitting in a stool while humming the _Super Mario Bros._ tune.

"Mwah, hah, hah… Where are the guys?" Sigma asked.

"They're playing in the room with Hikawa - kun, so… Let's wait until they call us."

"Oho. Pillow war, eh?" Sigma grinned.

"Yeah. The usual drill."

"I beat that guy and he didn't get to drain even 25% of my HP. But he wasn't a pushover, either. And if I could bet, the Kansai dude is gonna go after Search Man next." Sigma explained.

"Mwah, hah, hah... It wouldn't surprise me."

"Warning. Non-authorized Net Navis detected outside of firewall: 5 Navis detected." An auto-voice announced.

"5? Couldn't be…"

"Mwah, hah, hah… Those guys again?" Sigma grinned.

"Send them to Taiwan, will ya?"

"Delighted!"

Sigma ran towards the firewall and crossed over to see the Cut Man Brothers making their fighting poses.

"Crap! That guy isn't Rock Man!" Jiiro cursed.

"Uh-oh." The other four muttered.

"Come at full power!" Sigma taunted.

"Surprise Choppi'n!"

"Gotcha."

Sigma let them jump towards him in formation and then swung his sword (which had been placed 45º to the left) a full 105º degree: the arching hit the five of them and the power sent them flying across the skies until they were out of sight.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah… Send me a postcard by the time ya reach Cuba~!" Sigma called out with obvious amusement.

"Good work." Zero told him as he walked over to Sigma.

"Yo! Zero. If ya came to see the guys then you'll have to wait a little while: they're engrossed with a pillow war." Sigma grinned.

"O. K. Just tell them that I'm on those women's trail with Lander: we believe we have a lead."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Deal. Tell them they don't pass the Hiding Exam: they have a 0!" Sigma blinked him the right eye.

"Not bad. Later." Zero did sound amused.

Sigma returned inside of the PC and Blood Shadow was barely holding back his laughter.

"You sent them flying all the way to Cuba… Hiding Exam…" He was muttering.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! I'm a cool guy." Sigma grinned.

"Yeah. And we're slowly trekking the road to the resolution." Blood Shadow looked amused.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… That's the Blood Shadow I know!"

They shook hands and grinned to each other before Sigma sat down on a large stool and brought up another screen.

_Hah! These guys are slowly heading towards dissolution! And the Joke Club scores another original record! Mwah, hah, hah… Come at null power!_


	28. Chapter 28: Of guns and armors

**Chapter 28: Of guns and armors**

10:38 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Ah… Ah… Niisan… It feels too good…"

"Heh, heh. This is my latest strategy."

"No wonder… Saito – kun's sneaky but it was my idea so…"

"Uh… It feels good… Good…"

"Heh, heh. I'm a genius!"

"And now you're going to tell us another computing lesson?"

"Guess that, Netto - kun."

"Yeah. NAT."

"NATO?"

"NAT… Network Address Translation…"

Netto, Saito and Tooru were making out inside of their bedroom: the blinders had been lowered to make the room be largely unlit.

They all had the S&M gear on and a black blindfold: their forearms were locked and placed behind their backs: Netto was sitting on Saito's lap and allowing him to thrust his cock in and out of his body while Saito also licked his ears' rims, neck and cheeks to tease him: Saito was sitting atop his bed, too: Tooru was licking Netto's nipples from the front: they all had clothes pegs clipped to their nipples too.

"I think this new kind of play makes us be hornier."

"No wonder. It was my idea, you know." Tooru giggled.

"Guess so… Tooru – kun is good at licking… Heh, heh… Anyway… What's with that NATO thing?"

"Chut! Netto – kun! You got it wrong!"

"NAT! Not NATO." Saito corrected.

"See?"

"Sorry. Network Address Translation… What, every country writes them using their numerical system and they need to be translated to English, then?" Netto tried to guess.

"I don't think so." Tooru muttered.

"No: all IP addresses MUST be written in decimal numbers. However, we must take into account private, LAN – level, IP addresses… Like, for example, 192 168 10 1 for our house's router device which serves as Gateway… The router acts as the NAT device and makes its address become "public", like… 217 116 0 144…" Saito explained.

"And why do we need that…?" Netto asked between moans.

"There's gotta be some reason, obviously enough." Tooru giggled.

"Because Internet or the Cyber World works by the use of these "public" addresses: websites use a "public" address but thanks to the DNS technology, one can simply type the name and the server hosting it will tell its address… So, our house would be located by using this "public" address… People outside our LAN can't see the addresses the router assigns to the computers and such… In short: the "public" address IS necessary to navigate through web browsers and for us Net Navis to deliver packages and emails outside the house…"

"So that's how it is…"

Tooru began to rub his cock against Netto's with vigor and both moaned while Saito giggled.

"And the reverse holds true? I mean… On the way back, all info which enters the house gets a "private" address belonging to the computer which is the origin of the process…?" Netto asked.

"Bravo! That's why NAT is very important: and, without "private" addressing and sub-netting, IPv4 address would've become exhausted long ago…"

"Whoa!" Tooru whistled.

"That's why they're already working and slowly implementing IPv6…"

"Won't deny it was an important thing to know, but… Why do they jump from V4 to V6? There's no V5 in the in-between?" Netto asked next with a hint of curiosity.

"Ah… That tune of curiosity you always had when coming to the Science Labs… Memorable…" Saito sounded amused.

"Truly."

"Yeah, yeah… So?"

"No. There's no V5, but there weren't V1, V2 or V3 before. The name is derived from the number of "octets" used to make up the address: V4 has four, thus 32 bits for each address; V6 has 128 bits or six octets of eight bits each one. Thus, you have an incredibly long amount of IP addresses blocks to assign! It also will make NAT needless and incorporate security upon its structure. But it'll take many years still to see for full implantation anywhere." Saito finished.

"Thanks for the lesson, Hikari – _sensei_." Netto sarcastically told him.

"Heh, heh, heh." Tooru giggled.

"Now that the lesson is over, let's have some "extra" talk: your most sensitive spot is your ears' rims!" Saito grinned.

He began to lick them and Netto's moans increased in volume: his cock began to get hard, too, and Saito apparently noticed it because he also began to suck the skin around Netto's neck: Tooru kept on rubbing his cock against Netto's too.

"Sa… Saito… N-niisan…! Tooru – kun… This teasing is… too much…!" Netto moaned.

"Heh, heh, heh. I like teasing you, Netto – kun. It wouldn't be so climatic if you didn't go off before me and drag me along!"

"Yeah. Gotta gree with Saito – kun there."

"T-this guy…!" Netto muttered.

"Is cool." Saito finished.

"Heh, heh, heh." Tooru giggled.

"Very funny…!"

Netto's cock began to leak pre-cum and Saito apparently noticed it, too, so he began to suck the skin near the base of the neck from behind while Tooru increased the rubbing: Netto's moans increased volume and he began to sound like he was about to release.

"N-no good…! It's coming out…!" Netto moaned.

"Let it come out! I'm going off too!" Tooru gasped.

Both cried as they released: Netto stained his upper torso and face and so did Tooru: Netto's cock gripped Saito's and he sounded tense.

"Netto – kun!" He cried.

He also released and overfilled Netto's insides: some of his liquid slid down his cock and both panted: Saito immediately licked up the stains around Netto's face and so did Tooru: Netto then slowly stood up by using his hips and managed to sit on his knees and facing forward: Saito also sat up on his knees and Netto slowly turned around to face him: they walked closer to each other by dragging their knees and touched each other's lips': they began to share a passionate kiss for a little while: Tooru took the chance to pick 3 black silicon vibrators and stuffed them into their asses along with strings of anal beads.

"Heh, heh, heh. We missed the spicing up." Tooru told them.

"O~h… I missed this!" Netto moaned.

"Me too… Let's finish."

They finished their kiss and giggled when they noticed their white string of salive and white stuff.

"Next."

"Let's go."

Saito calmly lowered himself into his knees and crawled forward: he felt Netto's cock and balls with his nose and began to rub it with his nose: Netto's cock began to get hard so he then used his tongue to carefully pull the foreskin back and licking the urethra: Netto arched and felt a shiver of pleasure go down his spine: Tooru removed Netto's vibrator and stuffed his cock inside to begin pumping into him.

"Niisan…! Tooru – kun." He muttered.

Saito calmly began to take the cock into his mouth and to suck it: he set himself a pace to follow that of Netto's as he moved forward and back thanks to the use of his hips: Tooru began to lick Netto's neck from behind to tease him.

"Oh… O~h! Niisa~n…! Tooru – kun! A~h!" Netto moaned.

He suddenly released and Saito took it inside of his mouth: he lifted his body up and shared a new kiss with Netto: Tooru gasped and released inside of Netto too while sounding pleased.

"Now it's your turn, Netto – kun." Saito whispered to him.

"Yeah… Here I go." Netto confirmed.

"Heh, heh, heh." Tooru giggled.

He lowered himself and began to tease Saito's cock by sucking and licking around the balls and the base: Saito began to moan and Netto then teased the head: it began to leak pre-cum and Netto grinned: Tooru replaced the vibrator and began to pump into Saito next.

"Heh, heh. You get excited quicker than I, niisan. I guess you really find it exciting to be loved by me and Tooru - kun." Netto teased.

"How couldn't I? We've been doing threesomes over four years ago, Netto – kun. And this is a new type of game for us: we're testing how well we know each other's body. Tooru – kun likes it too." Saito replied with obvious amusement.

"Heh, heh, heh. True. This is the absolute proof of our bond. O. K. You'll soon be begging for more."

"That's true."

He suddenly began to suck the head and Saito moaned: Netto followed Saito's pace and kept on teasing him by sucking around the head: Saito's moans turned louder, too: Netto then slowly inserted a fraction of his tongue into the urethra: Saito arched his body backwards while Tooru kept on pumping and licking the base of his neck.

"Netto – kun…! Please accept it!" He gasped.

"There it goes!"

He released as well in three or four spurts which overfilled Netto's mouth: Tooru also released and giggled: Netto lifted himself up and quickly connected his lips with Saito's to share another passionate kiss.

"Niisan… I'm going in." Netto whispered.

"Please go in, Netto – kun." Saito replied.

"Alright. Then I'll blow-job Saito – kun."

Netto rubbed his cock against the sides of Saito's entrance to get it hard before slowly fitting it inside: Saito sounded like he'd been waiting for its feeling: Netto grinned and pushed all the way inside: Saito moaned and sounded ecstatic: Tooru simply began to suck and lick Saito's cock.

"Netto – kun… I don't how you do it, but… It feels incredible."

"Heh, heh! You always get hot when I play with you, niisan. O. K. I'm going to start moving." Netto chuckled.

"Please go ahead, Netto – kun…" Saito pleaded.

Netto leant his head over Saito's right shoulder and rubbed his left cheek against Saito's right cheek: he quickly began to move in and out of Saito's insides while rubbing their cheeks together: Saito moaned and began to get hard: Tooru kept on sucking and teasing his cock's head.

"I can feel that you're getting hard, niisan. I'm gonna make you see the white world. And Tooru – kun must be having fun teasing your cock's head too." Netto teased.

"Yeah… Do it… Netto – kun." Saito replied.

Netto then began to suck the skin around Saito's left shoulder: Saito moaned and seemed to enjoying the rush which came with each of Netto's thrusts and Tooru's teasing: Netto then began to lick some of his left arm's skin as well to make Saito giggle.

"It t-tickles, Netto – kun!" He protested.

"It turns you on." Netto replied with a grin.

"T-true, but… It tickles…! Please stop it…! This ain't fair, Netto – kun…! It tickles…!" Saito was barely holding his laughter back.

Netto quickly moved to the ears and began to lick them: Saito began to moan again and some pre-cum slid out of his cock which Tooru licked.

"You're already leaking pre-cum? You really get excited earlier than I do, Saito – niisan!" Netto grinned.

"Y-yeah… I tended to get turned on by watching your sleeping face from time to time… It looked so round and cute…" Saito confessed.

"Your eyes' sparkle always fascinated me, truth to be told… That's why I sometimes glanced at your face without you noticing…" Netto confessed next.

"Funny how we start confessing how we used to get turned on after four years…"

"Yeah. Brothers are always honest with each other, after all. And Tooru – kun's a honest buddy."

He began to suck the skin around Saito's ears: his moans turned even louder and he looked about to release.

"N-no good, Netto – kun…! I'm going off!"

"Whoa!"

Saito released and his own release gripped Netto's cock: he made sure to plunge to the deepest possible length before releasing and overfilling him.

"Niisan… Six-nine?" Netto asked.

"Yeah! Six-nine!" Saito sounded eager.

"Wait for me!" Tooru called out.

Netto calmly assumed a face-up position while Saito turned around and began to use his knees and hips to move over Netto until he noticed how his balls were directly above his mouth: he lowered his body and explored with his head and nose to find Netto's balls and cock: Tooru replaced Saito's vibrator and took out Netto's to stuff his cock inside.

"Let's go?" Netto asked.

"Go!" Saito replied.

"Go!" Tooru rallied.

Both began by licking their balls before using their teeth to drag the cocks into their throats: they started to suck and lick each other's one at a slow pace: they quickly began to increase their pace while using their hips to set a speed: they eventually released after three or four minutes: their mouths were overfilled and some of it slid down their chins and jaws: they took them out and panted: Tooru had also released inside of Netto too.

"Netto – kun… You love leaving my urethra for the last moment to trigger my release, don't you?" Saito told him.

"Yeah. Since you like teasing me right there the whole time…"

"Heh, heh, heh."

"Let's finish up." Saito suggested.

"Sure!"

Saito walked over to the center of the bed and turned around to then lower his body: they made sure to have their cocks feeling each other before starting a new passionate kiss and rubbing their cocks together while Tooru pumped into Saito again: Saito managed to grip Netto's toe fingers with his own and they rolled over so that Netto was on top: they kept at it before they released and stained their bodies and Tooru filled up.

"Cleanup phase." Saito told him.

"O. K., Admiral." Netto joked.

"Heh, heh, heh."

They licked each other clean and shared their final passionate kiss and panting for breath.

"Well… This kind of play is good enough. I'd say we leave it as it is… Or we could try adding something else as an "extra" from time to time, too… Heh, heh." Netto chuckled.

"Yeah. Let's clean up."

"Let's not forget to properly cleanse the stuff too."

Netto jumped off Saito and dropped into his knees while Saito extended his forearms while sticking them out of the bed's edge: he used his fingers to feel Netto's locked forearms and released the lock: Netto quickly removed Saito's as well: Tooru helped too.

"Off with this." Netto chuckled.

"Yeah. Let's go back to the morning." Saito grinned.

"Sure."

They all undid their blindfolds and calmly stared at their eyes for some seconds before starting to remove the gear and store it inside of a wheeled suitcase: Saito locked it and hid it inside of the closet under the Battle Chip box: they stretched.

"Let's dress up and tell the guys that we ended the pillow war already: Sigma must've finished by now."

"Roger, Chief."

"Heh, heh." Tooru giggled.

They calmly dressed up in their usual clothes before fixing the mess: they opened the blinders and spent some seconds getting used to the new illumination and the soft wind which entered through the balcony.

"Ah… Fresh wind. I guess it must be even fresher in Sharo Nation!"

"Search Man will soon know his "future"." Saito made a pun.

"And Laika will know his "destruction"." Netto made another pun.

"Good puns."

They headed over to the PC and Saito inputted some MS-DOS commands into it: both Navis appeared onscreen.

"Hullo! Sorry for the holdup: we were trying to settle the score."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. I can guess that. I sent the Cut Man Brothers to Cuba and Zero went with Lander to chase the women." Sigma grinned.

"Good. Those five will come back with straw hats, a cigar and a Cuban girl as _souvenirs_." Saito joked.

"You picked that from _Die Another Day_, the 20th Bond film which came out in 2002…"

"Oho." Tooru grinned.

"Heh, heh! _Clichés_ can be funny from time to time." Netto grinned.

"OH YEAH! LET ZA DAY HIT THE NIGHT!"

"Cloud Man! Dex is about to steal ya the spotlight!" Saito called out.

"The _Tos: KoR_ jerk guy! I'll bury them yet! "With this one attack… I'll sink you!"…"Play-time's over!"… Hah!"

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. He ran for his clouds and roadhogs."

"The Court of Owls has sentenced you to… capture!" Swallow Man taunted.

"Capture PKMN?" Tooru joked back.

"Hmpf! Not bad. I'm off and tell College of Charleston I'll bring a nightmare and a triple nightmare to them yet! Mwah, hah, hah!"

"They're gone. Whatever. Thanks for coming, Tooru – kun. Heh, heh."

07:11 AM (Moscow Time)…

"… Yo! _Danna_! Ya ready for a shakedown?"

"So you're Destruction Man. Blues told me about you."

"Mr. Vice President is a nice fella, yeah!"

"Oh… It'd seem Enzan has a new trick up his sleeve."

Search Man was confronting Destruction Man inside of an ice-covered Cyber World while Laika and Future exchanged impressions: Laika looked slightly amused at Future's comment.

"I did tell 'im: "I applaud yer extra hours", so… He's fond of sarcasm, I'd rather say." Future chuckled.

"Heh. Let's go!" Laika grinned.

"Yessir! Rocket Speeder!"

A jetpack formed on Destruction Man's back and he shot forward at a mad speed towards Search Man: he calmly aimed his Scope Gun at the right foot.

"Freeze Bullet!"

He shot the Freeze Bullet and it caged the right foot in a block of ice: the sudden weight slowed down Destruction Man's speed.

"Battle Chip, Samurai Sword! Slot In!"

Search Man quickly jumped into Destruction Man and plunged the sword into the jetpack: it began to frizzle so Search Man jumped out of it as Destruction Man discarded it: the jetpack blew up while he rolled across the ground to then stand up and break his right foot free.

"Not bad, _Danna_! 220 HP in the first round… But my half mark is at 1650, so… There's still more to come!" He grinned.

"Then show it to me." Search Man challenged.

"Gladly! Shakin' Fistin'!"

Destruction Man dashed around Search Man and jumped over him while brandishing his fists: he then detached the outer armor around them and shot them out using some small jets: new ones formed to covered his normal Navi skin while Search Man aimed his Scope Gun at the fists flying towards him: they quickly separated and headed left and right to then come from behind: but Search Man saw it coming.

"Scope Gun!"

The fists, however, dived and hit the floor while causing two explosions to ring out: Destruction Man suddenly landed his fists into Search Man's back and sent him flying to then land on the ground in a neat manner: he grumbled and aimed for the enemy.

"This took 210 HP outta ya, _Danna_! I've got plenty of tricks left in store just for ya." Destruction Man grinned.

"So it'd seem. Battle Chip, Super Vulcan! Slot In!" Laika muttered.

"Super Vulcan!"

Destruction Man let the rounds hit him but his forehead's sensors activated and shot several electrical discharges at Search Man thus electrocuting him.

"My sensors can return attacks at 1.5 times its base power, _Danna_! Thus, ya get 300 HP of damage. And yer max HP clocks at 2050, or so let my scanners know!" Destruction Man grinned.

"Crap." Laika muttered.

"Satellite Ray, Scope Gun!"

"Black Hole Armor!"

Both attacks were absorbed by the black hole – like effect and Destruction Man suddenly formed a copy of the Scope Gun colored metallic blue and silver along with the Satellite Ray: his sensors shone and he shot at Search Man who wasn't expecting such a move: Search Man stepped back.

"Search Man: status report."

"Roger. The Scope Gun per se does just 60 of damage and Satellite Ray does 80… But his copies made 90 and 120 each one, so… Instead of me cutting 140 off him, he cut me 210 HP… I've lost over 500 HP and a fourth of my total HP…" Search Man muttered.

"Amplifying the damage inflicted and copying the enemy… These abilities no joke: now I see why Enzan told me to walk with lead feet."

"I'd rather say with steel feet, _Danna_." Future joked.

"More, more and more~! Destruction Sky!"

Destruction Man jumped into the air and built up kinetic energy: he then hit the floor with his right foot: an expansive shockwave of energy originated and headed towards Search Man: he jumped off the way at the last second but was suddenly punched on the stomach area by Destruction Man: he then got punched on his helmet and received a kick right into his chest which made him crash into the ground.

"Grah…! 300 HP…! Over 800 HP lost and he's at half my damage!" Search Man cursed.

"I've been improvin' some new tricks, _Danna_!" Destruction Man exclaimed with a broad grin.

"Battle Chip, Recovery 200, Samurai Sword! Slot In!"

Search Man stood up and drew the Samurai Sword: Destruction Man brought the right hand to his chin and began to circle around Search Man while slightly lowering his upper body: he was studying him.

"What's that toy ya have there, _Danna_? Ya picked it off the Tsar's personal treasure vault under Red Square?" Destruction Man joked.

"Very original." Laika dryly told Future.

"Oi. Don't look at me." Future replied.

"Hmpf." Search Man was unmoved.

"Che, che… Maybe you need somethin' to straighten ya out? Let's go, Soldier – sama~! Blowin' Blow!"

Destruction Man suddenly jumped forward and hit Search Man with both fists: a vulgar peeble showed up on his place and four _shuriken_ hit Destruction Man's back while getting stuck there followed by a slash by the Samurai Sword: Destruction Man shook them off and looked excited by now.

"Yeah! That speed! That coolness! That callous face! That's what makes ya an intriguin' fella!" He exclaimed.

"I took off about 360 HP off him with this combo… He should've lost around 800 HP and half of his current max capacity." Laika calculated aloud.

"I applaud yer Math diploma, Soldier – sama!" Future joked.

"Oh. Shut up." Laika grumbled.

"Heh, heh, heh! Attacks which hit my back aren't calculated by the sensors, but I don't care. _Go_! Destroyer's Courage!"

"Crap." Search Man muttered.

Destruction Man's armor glowed with a yellowish aura and he then made it spiral around his legs and arms: it then fused into a yellowish sphere of energy which grew in size.

"This inflicts Paralysis, too, Soldier – sama! Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…" He chuckled.

"Search Man." Laika calmly called out.

"Roger, sir."

"Eat this!"

Destruction Man shot the sphere at Search Man but he suddenly used his Samurai Sword to bounce it back: Destruction Man gasped and formed black energy around his right fist to halt it and bounce it at Search Man again: Search Man bounced it back for the second time.

"So then… We're gonna play a tennis match! Excitin'!" Destruction Man grinned.

"Hmpf."

"This thing normally delivers 240 HP of damage… Given how you bounced it off to me once, it's increased to 360… And, with this second bounce, it lifted to 480!" He announced.

"Now! Scope Gun!"

The attack destroyed the device on Destruction Man's right forearm and the attack hit him fully thus paralyzing him: Search Man quickly ran towards him.

"Program Advance! Vulcan, Triple Slot In!"

"Mugen Vulcan!"

The Program Advance's rounds hit Destruction Man and roared as he accumulated damage: his sensors frizzled and looked overloaded while he struggled to recover movement: when the attack finished, most of his armor's pieces had fallen only to be replaced by red-colored ones.

"What?" Laika gasped.

"Huff… Huff… Lucky me: I had the Red Armor on beneath the main Blue Armor… Blue Armor increases my speed while Red Armor cuts the damage ratio by about 50%... That attack should've delivered about 1000 HP and overloaded me, but, with the Red Armor's partial effects, it got reduced by 30% and did close to 700 HP… Thus, I sum up over 1500 HP of damage but I can still kick 'round…" Destruction Man admitted.

"Sacrifice speed for defense…!" Laika muttered.

"Yeah, _Danna_. Sometimes, defense is preferable to speed. Oi! Destruction Man! Switch to full Red Armor mode!" Future told him.

"Roger! Hroa~h!"

All of his previous armor was deleted and replaced by this red and black armor: his weapons also changed and his forehead sensors formed a cross of nine blue LEDs.

"Heh, heh, heh. Feelin' the angst, Soldier – sama?"

"No." Search Man replied.

"… What was that _ninja_ fellow's speech four years ago…? Ah. I remember now. Yeah, yeah… "Callous… No… Cool and composed… That's what I like." … That defines ya!" Destruction Man laughed.

"Hmpf. "Directional Camouflage!"

Search Man concealed his form but Destruction Man merely made his shades glow pale blue: the white shape of Search Man's figure became visible on them and he aimed one of his missile-holding pads at the spot where Search Man was at.

"Red Missiles!"

Five of them shot towards Search Man but Destruction Man suddenly seemed to frown under the shades: he looked down at his feet and spotted four Search Grenades set there.

"What!"

They detonated and the Scope Gun's firing sound rang out from close by: the missile pad was damaged and Destruction Man looked around in a confused manner.

"A dummy…!" He muttered.

"Yeah. Each Search Grenade normally does about 50 HP: four of them would drain 200 HP and the Scope Gun did 50, too. But because you have 50% damage reduction rate, you only get 125. But you're inches from your normal limit, anyway." Laika listed.

"I guess it's Big Boss' time to jump into the stage! Annihilator Chip, Slot In!" Future exclaimed.

"So! You are the Sharo Nation Net Saviors… Come! And be annihilated by this overwhelming power!" Annihilator Man taunted with a hint of amusement.

"As you wish!" Laika confirmed.

"Satellite Ray!"

Destruction Man quickly moved out of the way although his speed had obviously been lowered: he aimed his forearms at Search Man and then tapped his forehead sensors: they shone and began to emit a hum as they seemingly scanned him.

"Ruin Fists!"

His fists glowed with a blackish aura and he hit the floor with them: silver-colored steel spikes appeared out of the ground and quickly formed a circle five meters large and three wide to reduce the fighting space: Search Man gasped and Destruction Man suddenly kicked and punched him with each foot and fist before backing up.

"Damn! 400 HP of damage: I've lost over 1000 HP and I'm about the half of my max HP!" Search Man cursed.

"So? What happened to that earlier mood?" Annihilator Man teased with a chuckle.

"Scram." Laika grumbled.

"Scramble." Future laughed.

"Battle Chip, Recovery 200, Tank Cannon! Double Slot In!"

"Tank Cannon!"

Search Man jumped and managed to hit the opponent from behind but he didn't seem to care.

"That toy only did 60 HP of damage… I'm just at over 1700 HP of damage: I still have 1600 to go!" Annihilator Man laughed.

"Laika – sama. What do you suggest, sir?" Search Man asked.

"Hmmm…" Laika seemed to be thinking.

"Boilin' brains, _Danna_?" Future joked.

"Boiling helmets." Laika shot back with obvious sarcasm on his voice and looking bored.

"_Nice_! Ya could patent it." Future chuckled.

Laika didn't reply and looked at his Battle Chip Folder with an analytical glare.

_I haven't used one third yet. But draining 1600 HP when the opponent can reduce 50% of your power will be a pain. Huh? Wait… Omega did send me this new experimental Battle Chip he came up with… It could be useful, too!_

"Search Man! Strategy Ice." Laika commanded.

"Roger. Freeze Bullet!"

Search Man shot at the ground and froze some patches of it: Destruction Man drew spikes on the soil of his armor boots and calmly jumped from one spot to the other while waving his arms in a taunting manner: Search Man merely kept on freezing the ground.

"Fool! Ruin Kick!"

"Now! Battle Chip, Plama Bullet! Slot In!"

Search Man charged up the Scope Gun and shot four attacks which hit the armor and actually deteriorated it: Destruction Man stopped and looked the damage.

"What!" Annihilator Man cursed.

"Plasma… An emulation of high-temperature plasma… Plasma melts practically anything yet it didn't melt the armor because it has a complex carbon structure and that weapon isn't designed to output extremely high-temperature plasma..." Priest muttered.

"Guess who came up with it." Laika challenged.

"Omega." Priest guessed.

"Yeah. He always comes up with handy tricks. Now that armor has lost 10% of its power and will just cut the attacks by 40%... I can work with that. Search Man! Do warn me if you detect compatibility problems: the weapon is still experimental." Laika commanded.

"Hum."

"Roger. Our attack took 200 HP off him so he has about 1400 HP left by now… But since our attacks will do 60% the normal power, then we can slowly increase the ratio of inflicted damage." Search Man reported.

"Hmpf. Clever trick… Ruin Bomb!"

A Giga Count Bomb appeared on the middle of the stage and was surrounded by Spark Bees colored metallic grey: the Viruses began to attack Search Man and he tried to delete them in time but the bomb went off and inflicted damage to both parties.

"Search Man! You get 500 of damage, so you've lost about 1300 HP by now! I get 300 instead so I sum up around 2200 HP of damage. But this is just going to get more intense." Annihilator Man listed.

"Huff… He can use Program Advances in combination with his armor's capacities…" Search Man muttered.

"Program Advance! Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In!"

"Giga Cannon!"

"Come!"

Destruction Man was hit by the Program Advance and his sensors glowed with energy: Destruction Man crossed his wrists in a _karate_ – like pose and suddenly shot two hooks from compartments in his elbows: they attached to Search Man and delivered the damage back.

"I lost another 300: you foolishly lose 650! I have a build-up of 2500 HP while yours clocks at around 1950 HP!" Annihilator Man laughed.

"Battle Chip, Recovery 300, Recovery 150! Double Slot In!"

"Che." Annihilator Man grumbled.

"Phew. I cut back to 1500 HP, more or less… Still 800 HP to go at this rate…! This is really painful." Search Man sighed in relief.

"Futile! If you try to push me past 3000 HP of damage then you will regret it, Net Savior! Destruction Man still holds several new abilities which you haven't seen!" Annihilator Man threatened.

"Plasma Bullets!"

"Black Hole Armor!"

Destruction Man intercepted the attack and drew the imitation of the Scope Gun to shoot the bullets back at Search Man: they were met with the Giga Count Bomb Program Advance instead and it detonated thus pushing Destruction Man back and provoking for an additional electrical discharge to hit him: Search Man looked unhurt as he held a Straw Doll on his left hand.

"Damn. 450 HP lost… Around to 2950… Bordering 3000 HP of total accumulated damage… But… I still have over 300 HP left. And once I use the last technique… Then you're done for! Search Man!" Annihilator Man muttered.

"Brag while you can! Battle Chip, Triple Bomb! Triple Slot In!"

Search Man tossed the Triple Bombs but Destruction Man caught them and returned them to have them bombard the area around Search Man: a bolt of lightning fell down from the 'sky' and impacted upon Destruction Man: a small statue had been set in front of Search Man.

"Ojiouzan…! 50 HP of damage per attack even with the armor, so… 150 HP in total… 3100 and only 200 HP left… But… You've pushed me to this extreme! It's too late to regret! Destruction God's Anger!" Annihilator Man laughed.

His body was surrounded by powerful winds which even tore and cracked the floor: Search Man tried shooting but his attacks diverted around the target and met the floor instead: Destruction Man opened compartments on his boots, knees, hips, chest, shoulders, elbows and wrists to reveal built-in machineguns, lasers and missiles: the entire armament flew out in different directions and began to bombard and hit Search Man from different angles thus building up damage.

"At this rate…! He won't survive it…! Battle Chip, Area Steal!" Laika cursed aloud.

"Hah. What will that do?" Annihilator Man taunted.

"Muramasa Blade~!" Search Man roared.

He approached from behind and managed to leave a deep cut on the enemy's armor: he collapsed into the ground before logging out and Search Man was able to land before collapsing as well and logging out of the area.

"… Destruction Man logged out first and his HP did hit 1, although Search Man still has 35… So you win, Soldier – sama." Future calmly told him with a shrug.

"Phew." Laika sighed in relief.

"Heh, heh, heh. That face says you'd preffered a legion of Viruses to our tag-combo." Future chuckled.

"Yeah. True."

"Well then… Guess we'll see ya 'round. I'm comin' back to the HQ, Priest – sama."

"Good. Make sure to tell Past and Present to come, too. There'll be an important talk." Priest commanded.

"Farewell." Annihilator Man merely added.

Laika sat back on his chair and was suddenly surrounded his colleagues, who tapped him.

"Good job, Laika! You showed that guy what over-confidence is about in a neat manner!" One of them told him.

"He must be wishing he didn't challenge you with an empty stomach: you get in a terrible mood when you don't have breakfast!" Another joked.

"Heh. True. I should improve that." Laika grinned.

"Did I tell you guys…?" One began.

"Yeah: the tale about the senile _yoga_ master…" Another grumbled.

Laika merely chuckled while his colleagues returned to their posts: he looked relieved and amused at the same time…


	29. Chapter 29: Pathways

**Chapter 29: Pathways**

12:38 AM (Japan Time), Thursday July the 6th…

"… You came. Good. I will begin my explanations."

"Roger, sir."

Past, Present and Future were kneeling in front of the LCD screen and seemingly awaiting orders.

"It's a hard thing to do, but… Rama will be ending. It was never intended to last for long, either. All of you will be "released" and you will continue to do what you always did." Priest announced.

"Pressure, sir?" Past asked.

"… More or less. But I knew from the start that I wouldn't be able to keep Rama around forever. It was intended to be a cover, a hideout, so that I could try to complete some research of my own. All will be over by tomorrow."

"… It must be a hard decision to make, but… Circumstances must've forced it." Present muttered.

"Yeah. However, I'll leave you guys some resources which, if used wisely, can help you. One piece of advice, Present: try to cut it out with those mass beheadings. Try to limit yourself." Priest warned.

"Roger, sir."

"Future: you did a good job repairing those second-hand bikes. I'm sure you'll do fine." Priest told him.

"Thank you, _Danna_ – sama."

"Past: stay here for some minutes. I need to talk directly with you because your circumstances are different from the others'." Priest commanded.

"Yes, sir. By your orders, sir."

"You can also meet up whenever you want: you don't need to break apart or anything like that."

"We understand, sir."

"Good, good. Present. Future. You two can go: Past will stay to talk with me." Priest told them.

"Good luck, sir!" Both saluted.

"Thank you."

"Later." Past told the other.

"We will meet again."

"Come enjoy some _takoyaki_ one day, _Danna_."

"Make sure to burn a lot of cheap guys!" Destruction Man grinned at Balrog.

"Heh. Gladly…" He replied.

"Hmpf. I will do what I am told to do." Axe Man shrugged.

Both Present and Future headed out of the room while Past turned to face the screen again.

"Past. I know I recruited you before Rama came to begin and trained you to be a field agent who could go and deliver fatal blows to creeps, so you must be finding it hard to cope with the idea that you won't be backed up by me anymore." Priest told him.

"Yes, sir… It was thanks to you, sir. I was able to repress my cruel memories and move on forward as a shadow which was always roaming around. And I've been in contact with you often too, sir." Past confirmed.

"I've arranged for something: you will be able to keep on being a "bounty hunter" with support from the "Committee": they will let you be an independent collaborator." Priest announced.

"I see. Thank you very much, sir."

"Now go. And always look forward." Priest commanded.

"Roger, sir!"

Anderson looked on through another LCD screen how Past walked out of the room and sighed.

"They will do fine." He muttered.

"Anderson – sama? What is the next step, sir?" Annihilator Man asked.

"Wait for tomorrow: Rock Man will come." Anderson simply replied.

"Roger, sir."

"By the way… Did you manage to find good quality videos of _Halo 3_ on YouTube?" Anderson asked.

"Yes, sir! There's a HD-quality playlist, sir, which I already stored in the "Favorites" section for reference and quick access. And I'm keeping an eye out for any news regarding _Pocket Monsters Heart Gold and Soul Silver_ which were announced about 2 months ago, sir, to be released in September, sir."

"Good. I'll have a look at them later. Check the physical and Cyber World security: I wouldn't be surprised if Dark Land was about to attempt something desperate." Anderson ordered.

"Roger, sir!"

Anderson stepped down from the chair and picked a field detector: he began to swipe it around the room and no signal was emitted: he checked every nook and cranny but there was no response, either.

"Good. I'm not bugged anymore and there aren't any hidden cameras. I should try to check every a few hours just in case. Those idiots most likely don't know when to quit pestering people." He muttered.

He deposited the detector in top of a desk and quickly picked IR goggles: he switched off the lights and checked the room with them.

"Nothing, either. Good. Let's have fun!"

He took them off and turned the lights again as he headed for the throne, climbed on it, and used the holographic screen to access YouTube: he began to look at the videos and chuckled under his breath…

19:08 PM (Japan Time)…

"… That's gotta be the place, then!"

Zero was lurking close to a Cyber World Store's entrance: it was a round building without windows and painted purple: the banner above its entrance read "LONG TAILS": the building seemed to give out a creepy feeling.

"Hmmm… Who cares? I'll just butt in." Zero muttered.

He headed towards the doors and kicked them to force them open: he ran inside of a round hall which was transited by many Navis: there were sofas and cushions for them to seat and most were looking at small holographic screens: the atmosphere was illuminated with gas lamps hanging from the ceiling and gave it a weird atmosphere.

"Nobody move. Net Police." Zero announced.

The Navis quickly switched off their screens and scrambled in all directions: one of two doors at the end of the round room opened and Witch came out while looking annoyed.

"What's this scandal…? Zero!" She gasped.

"You know about me, then. It'll save me the P.A." Zero replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"H-how did you know I was working here?" She demanded.

"Easy. Types like you always seek a hideout in an already established club: I only had to check some lists to see the profiles and the date of hiring: thus I narrowed it down knowing you and your Operator's height. I'm somewhat of a detective, too. And those "customers" will find a welcome reception on the outside, too." Zero explained.

"Why, you…! Kazuhira – sama! Please unlock my battle capabilities!" She called out.

"Yeah. I'm on it… Done." Kazuhira replied.

"Come!" Zero challenged.

"Poison Spell!"

"Z – Saber!"

Witch's staff spheroid glowed with purple light and a purple circle was drawn into the ground as she jumped out of it: Poison Panels filled the circle but Zero was simply hovering over them and rushing towards her: she scoffed and drew a scimitar to block him.

"I can hover." Zero announced.

"Che. Witch's Barrier!"

"What?"

The purple barrier formed around her and attacked Zero with electricity: he lowered his guard and Witch delivered an attack using the scimitar before pushing him back by kicking his chest.

"Huff, huff… 220 HP of damage to start with… 10% of my total HP… I don't care: I've got more tricks up my sleeves." Zero muttered.

"Ice Spear Spell!"

Several Ice Spears formed around the room and Zero quickly hovered around them to dodge: he then swung his Z – Saber up, down, left and right to shoot out four energy slices which circled and headed for Witch: she made a smug smile.

"Battle Chip, Ojiouzan! Slot In!" Kazuhira announced.

Witch jumped out of the way and the four attacks hit the statue: four thunderbolts fell down and hit Zero, who growled something under his breath.

"Damn. Another 220 HP lost… 440 HP lost and I haven't gotten any closer to harming any of her 3200 HP…! I gotta get serious. Hra~h!"

Zero built up energy on his left hand and shot a stream of energy towards the ceiling: some of it broke and the fragments rained down on Witch: she lowered her guard and Zero quickly delivered a quick attack to her stomach area.

"Che. 240 HP combined with the debris… Bothersome meddling guy!" She cursed.

"Bite me." Zero taunted.

"Che! Crow Spell!"

Crow-shaped Viruses formed and began to dive towards Zero: he cut through the horde but some of them did get to peck him: he rolled across the ground and shot more energy slices to deal with them: he suddenly felt a cut on his back made by Witch's scimitar.

"280 HP, you lose this time. 720 HP lost. How's this?" She taunted.

"Hmpf. I don't care."

"Hah! Then die." She shot back.

"Battle Chip, Bug Bomb! Slot In!"

"Hrah!"

"Hmpf."

Zero quickly sliced the Bug Bomb in four using his energy slices and then tried to tie an attack in only to met up with the Witch's Barrier and be repelled.

"260 HP! 980 lost and I'm this fresh. Tee, heh, heh."

"Earth Change!"

Zero pressed his left hand into the ground and circuitry-like energy patterns spread from there: they blocked off the hole in the ceiling and all doors thus trapping them inside of the building: Zero also dashed forward and left a trail of "afterimages" on his wake: Witch gasped and tried to spot which on was the real one but Zero managed to attack her from behind and she growled.

"Hum. 250, 490 HP lost for _me_… Bah. You have two times that amount, anyway. I'm in advantage."

"I wonder about that." Zero calmly replied.

"What?"

"Hra~h!"

Zero built up energy on his Z – Saber and stabbed the ground with it: the area shook and Witch tried to keep her balance: Zero used the chance to come closer but she drew the scimitar and attacked his upper torso: Zero backed up and then warped to reappear hovering next to the sealed ceiling hole.

"Thunder Spell!" Witch exclaimed.

A thunder fell down from above and hit Zero: a cloud of smoke ensued and four _shuriken_ rained down from behind Witch: she got hit and growled something as Zero reappeared opposite of where he'd been standing at.

"Che. 200 HP… 690… But I keep on being above ya." She muttered with a hint of annoyance.

"Witch. Cool it or we're gonna step into a trap." Kazuhira warned.

"Roger. Defense Spell!"

Her bodysuit color switched to navy blue together with a faint navy blue glow around her body: she then made her spheroid change to white and built up energy.

"Beam Spell!"

She shot a white-colored beam at Zero and suddenly dropped into the ground: the beam bounced off the sealing in the ceiling and hit Witch: she cursed and Zero added a kick to her lower jaw only to get a deep cut on his left wrist: he growled and backed up.

"Hmpf. My Defense Spell cuts the damage by 50%, so… I only received 180 HP of damage. 870 for me… And I did inflict 90 to ya, so… 1070 HP lost for ya, then." She shrugged.

"Bring it on." Zero challenged.

"Gladly! Rotator Attack!"

"Straw Doll."

Witch shot a circle of energy with a hollow center section (like a donut) towards Zero, but he brought out the Straw Doll and the attack hit it instead: Witch was delivered counter damage but she didn't seem to care about it.

"250 HP for me… 1020 HP… I'm losing advantage. But this can still take quite a while. Tee, heh, heh." She shrugged.

"Battle Chip, Super Vulcan! Slot In!"

"Super Vulcan!"

The rounds began to head for Zero but he merely bounced each of them with his sword to head for the ceiling and bounce them back at Witch who didn't care.

"100 HP… 1120 HP… This is starting to get tedious, even. Kazuhira – sama: did you manage to escape?" Witch called out.

"Yeah. I'm at a safe distance from there and no-one is following me: and since I'm about to merge with a large avenue's traffic then..." Kazuhira calmly replied with some amusement.

"Good. Attack Spell!"

Her colors switched to blood red and she formed a smug smile as her scimitar changed into a _katana_: she then aimed it at the ceiling and energy began to travel up its blade from the hilt: the _katana_ had a faint black glow to it now.

"Hades' Strike!"

She swung her sword towards the ground in a 160º angle: a large black-colored slice of energy headed towards Zero while tearing across the ground: Zero tried to warp but the slice warped in tow and hit him from behind causing an explosion.

"That's 750 for ya! 1840 HP of total damage!" She called out.

"Is that so?" He calmly replied.

Witch gasped as the smoke cleared: the whole of the energy was trapped inside of a sphere and looking about to break out at any moment.

"I got inspired by Annihilator Man: magnetic fields to contain energy. Have it back." He announced.

"T-then…! You didn't get damaged?" She gasped.

"No. I'm still at 1090 HP lost. Catch."

He released the energy and it hit Witch thus causing an explosion: she hissed and cursed as she tried to cleanse some burns on her body.

"1870 of total damage for you, Witch." Zero listed.

"Che. I shouldn't have changed styles. Heal Spell!"

Red sparkles of light rained down around her and she sighed in relief while Zero grumbled.

"Heh. I cut down 25% the damage, so… I reduced my damage to 1402 HP total out of 3200… And I'm not going to switch out of Defense Spell anymore! Defense Spell! Tee, heh, heh."

"This is turning eternal." Zero grumbled.

"Yeah. As eternal as the _Naraku_…" She announced in a sinister tone of voice and making a scary grin.

"Hmpf. I'm going all out. Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Dream Sword!"

"Futile! Hades' Strike: it will imitate the total damage of the incoming attack and grant it to the opponent! I copied that from Destruction Man's sensors!" She announced.

Her attack and Zero's Dream Sword collided mid-way: but Zero suddenly swung his sword arm backwards to "reel" both attack and have them spiral around his sword: he shot them forward as a mix of both and tore through the Witch's Barrie thus hitting her fully.

"Gotcha." Zero chuckled.

"Grah… 500… 1902… But this is far from over! I will make this last forever at this rate! Tee, heh, heh. And learn something! Even if you stop us… Others will take our places. It's the way of the world! Twilight will see to it: that I promise you!" Witch laughed in a hysterical manner.

"That laughter makes my audio input systems protest." Zero muttered.

"Hades' Strike!"

"Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In! Giga Cannon!"

Zero used his own Giga Cannon to 'reel' the unstable mix in and shot it at Witch who didn't seem to care about it.

"Another 500… 2402… I can do it!" Zero muttered.

"Muramasa's Double Mode!" Witch announced.

"What?" Zero gasped.

She suddenly summoned two Muramasa swords and they headed towards Zero complemented with a new Hades' strike and blue bolts of electricity: Zero suddenly pressed his hand against the ground and blew it thus making him fall into the room below: the four attacks hit the east wall and blew it out to reveal several SWAT Navis waiting outside of the place: Zero's earlier technique sealed this opening, too.

"Che. He dropped into the basement! Wait!"

Witch dropped down as well and spotted Zero nervously looking around at the vague shapes illuminated by candles.

"What the hell is this? A torture chamber…?" Zero cursed.

"Yeah… The _Naraku_! Useless men are reeducated here." Witch proclaimed with an eager smile.

"…"Reeducated"… You sound like a tyrant!" Zero hissed.

"Whatever. A former Virus can't hope to understand the meaning of many things in the human world: die! Hades' Strike!"

"Huh! Program Advance! Battle Chip, Yoyo! Triple Slot In! Yoyo Blade!"

The Yoyo Blade and the Hades' Strike collided and Zero then shot them towards Witch: she, however, tossed what looked like a voodoo doll of Zero in the way: it glowed and the energy hit Zero thus inflicting damage to him.

"Bravo! You just helped me test this thing: it grants 1000 HP of damage to anyone who hits him! Tee, heh, heh!" Witch laughed.

"Damn. And why did you have that thing?" Zero demanded.

"I wanted to make voodoo into a real thing! Heh, heh, heh. Hades' Strike: V2!"

Witch shot both the vertical strike and a new horizontal one: Zero suddenly brought out two High Guard Battle Chips and made the attacks bounce off to hit Witch: an explosion ensued, followed by a cry of agony and the sound of a logout.

"That did 1000 HP of damage, and she was at 2400 HP: 3400, so I clearly exceeded her max HP. Phew. I managed to end it. All which is left is tracking Kazuhira. But if Twilight's helping them…" Zero muttered.

He cancelled the sealing and the SWAT Navis rushed in: Zero signaled the room.

"The server should be close by: I'm sure there'll be enough stuff for a headlines scandal involving one or two Diet members. And Twilight must be involved too." Zero announced with a shrug.

"Huh… This place gives me the creeps." One SWAT Navi muttered.

"No wonder…" Another muttered.

"I hope they burn this stuff down after the data gathering is over… I don't wanna imagine what went on here." A third muttered.

"Men! Behave. Thanks for the helping hand, Mr. Zero."

"Don't mind it, Captain. I'm off. Good luck."

Zero calmly walked up some stairs into the ground floor and came out of the building while muttering something under his breath…

19:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I am sorry, Ilia – chan! I failed!"

"Don't worry: we made sure to cover our trails."

Kazuhira was driving her bike across a traffic-filled avenue while listening to Witch's apologies.

"We're going to keep a low profile. And someone might end up hiring our services again. Like Twlight." Kazuhira told her.

"Roger."

"If they thought this is over then they are very mistaken: as long as there is a demand for this service, someone will end up granting it: such is the 21st century's society: anything can be turned into a service. Tee, heh, heh, heh… You guys are outdated. What can ya expect from an organization which has been around for over 40 years? They're going to reek of non-ventilated rooms!" Kazuhira muttered with a hint of amusement.

"Yeah. And one day a bulldozer will ram into it to tear it down and there'll be no headaches left." Witch giggled.

"Maybe we could go to Izu: I heard talks about it being a place with high demand and we could be on-site spotters. Tee, heh, heh. My skills are too good to let them rust." Kazuhira suggested.

"Yeah. The great and mighty IQ – sama is surely smiling on us given how we elude everyone and end up taking profits. And one day we will get a very juicy catch, too… Twilight might help us, yeah." Witch sounded evil.

"If the rumors are true then she built everything from scratch and took just under five years… We could do the same with time and resources… But I'd be the Flame Princess instead: I'd never be able to surpass her work, anyway. I guess she'd be amused." Kazuhira exposed.

"Next stop: Izu! Let the "Secret Empire" be resurrected: terror and fear will rule it all!" Witch announced with eagerness.

They laughed under their breaths as the bike vanished from sight…

21:20 PM (Melbourne Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh, heh. Miss Flame Princess? Why not. IQ – sama said she saw potential on them."

"I see."

"Heh, heh, heh, heh. Good, good… I'll speak it with IQ – sama and Legion 64 will surely locate them anyway… I leeched their PET too…"

"Like how Dark Bakura snuck a spy into the Millennium Puzzle?"

"Correct, Philip! Good analogy."

"OH YEAH! LET ZA BAKURA HIT ZA MARIK!"

"Huff."

"Not bad."

"Don't praise him, Master!"

Philip was watching at how Twilight chuckled while sitting on the sofa and looking at data on the PC: Cloud Man made up another parody and Philip rolled his eyes while sighing.

"Oh yeah! Chapeau the "Esmirriau" sends his greetings!"

"Who the heck is that?"

"Ah! A genius villain: he's short in height but his hat conceals a lot of gadgets for self-defense inside… Makes James Bond be pale in comparison, truly! Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah! Chapeau is French for hat and "Esmirriau" is a rhyme on "Escarransido" which means "Shabby". Shabby "Hat"! Mwah, hah, hah, hah!"

"Someone help me escape this madness…"

"OH YEAH! LET ZA MADNESS HIT ZA MAD HOUSE!"

"Huff!" The other Darkloids protested.

"Flame Princess? Why not… So be it! You have my approval, fair lady. And such _kyoudai_ will despair… Taste the despair, _kyoudai_! Mwah, hah, hah!"


	30. Chapter 30: Last Battle, In!

**Chapter 30: Last Battle, In!**

09:04 AM (Japan Time), Friday July the 7th…

"… This is the place?"

"So it'd seem…"

"Good luck."

"Kick 'em all!"

Rock Man was standing in front of a Cyber World entrance to a large factory-like building along with Sigma and Blood Shadow: the building was made of old brick and all of its windows were boarded up: it had obvious decay signs.

"Thank you, guys. Let's go, Netto – kun." Rock Man nodded in agreement and smiled.

"Yeah. To our final battle…" Netto muttered.

Rock Man stepped through the entrance and it closed up behind him: he immediately looked around the largely deserted and unlit main room and spotted a set of nine circular platforms hovering in the air and being interconnected through energy bindings: Annihilator Man was standing in the middle one and looked like he was waiting for him.

"Welcome to Rama. Rock Man."

"Annihilator Man. So we finally see each other's faces." Rock Man calmly replied.

"So as to say. You were able to prepare." Annihilator Man calmly replied without beating an eyebrow.

"Why don't get this battle on the road?" Rock Man suggested.

"Fine. Climb up."

Rock Man jumped and landed in front of Annihilator Man who calmly lowered his arms and set them parallel to his body while Rock Man did the same.

"Background program: start." Anderson's voice rang out.

"Background…?" Netto frowned.

The platforms hummed and began to slightly move while floating in the air as the whole area was surrounded by a 3D projection of outer space filled with countless stars: a large reddish gas giant planet could be seen far away along with a small ring-like object close to it: the background began to "travel" towards the north thus giving one a feeling of movement even though the platform wasn't moving at all.

"W-whoa! This reminds me of _Final Destination_, one of the fighting arenas in Great Melee Smash Brothers DX!" Netto looked awed.

"True. I got inspired from there." Anderson admitted.

"O. K., then… Battle Chip, Sigma Sword! Slot In!"

"Sigma Sword!"

Rock Man lifted the blade and set it horizontal to block any direct attacks on him: Annihilator Man made a smug smile and closed his fists to then begin hitting the blade over and over again with them: Rock Man held his ground and quickly jumped into the air to land in the platform behind him: Annihilator Man made his hands glow purple and white and opened the palms: energy flowed out and fused into a purple and white spheroid which he then shot at Rock Man: Rock Man used the Sigma Sword to bounce it back and Annihilator Man quickly drew both of his swords to bounce the attack off.

"Dead Man's Volley!" He announced.

"Sure." Rock Man shrugged.

"Let's go!" Netto grinned.

"Heh." Anderson sounded amused.

The volley game kept on but Rock Man suddenly changed the angle and position of the blade: the spheroid bounced back and hit Annihilator Man's right foot: he growled and clutched it for a second.

"Crap. My own attack backfires and I lose 400 HP to begin with out of my 4000… I know it's just 10%, but…" He muttered.

"Keep on." Anderson ordered.

"Roger, sir. Purple Rounds! White Rounds! Hra~h!"

His shoulder-mounted cannons hummed and began to shoot different shells of energy to bombard Rock Man's platform: he'd already jumped to the one at his right while the one he'd been at was destroyed.

"I see. Eventually… Only one platform will remain and we'll bet it on a close-quarters fight." Rock Man deduced.

"That's a strange strategy, but… It won't catch me unprepared. Let's level this up a bit, should we?" Netto suggested.

"Go for it."

"Soul Unison: Metal Soul! Slot In!"

"Metal Break!"

Rock Man picked the Sigma Sword on his left hand while his right fist glowed and he headed for Annihilator Man's head: he aimed the cannons at him but Rock Man lowered the Sigma Sword a bit to bounce the rounds off: his right fist hit the forehead and caused an explosion: Annihilator Man growled and looked annoyed.

"Oh crap! Jeez! Another 250 HP lost…! And this guy is still fresh! Magnet Trap! Go~!" He grumbled.

Rock Man tried to jump back at his platform but hit his head with an invisible "ceiling": he then tried heading for Annihilator Man but was met with an invisible "wall": he quickly spun the Sigma Sword around his axis and it bounced off the west, south and east corners: Annihilator Man chuckled while Rock Man grumbled.

"Crap. He's using magnetism to contain me just like he did with his annihilation energy." Rock Man muttered.

"Annihilator Fists!"

Annihilator Man suddenly stepped in and hit Rock Man's body four times in a row with his fists before Rock Man plunged the Sigma Sword on his right forearm: Annihilator Man ignored and stepped back while Rock Man used the window to run out of the "cage" and jump back at the SE platform where he'd been at.

"I got 300 HP of damage and he got 220… He sums up 770 HP of total damage: so we've gone over the three eights mark." Rock Man calculated aloud.

"Annihilation Meteors!"

Purple and white meteors began to rain down at random: three of them hit three empty platforms and blew them up, leaving Rock Man with four platforms to move and the central one where Annihilator Man was standing at: he was surrounded by a white-colored aura and seemed to be charging up energy for his next technique.

"Annihilator Beam!"

"Whoa!"

Rock Man jumped to the northern platform as Annihilator Man's white beam hit the platform he'd been at and it was deleted upon contact: Rock Man sighed in relief.

"That white beam looks dangerous! Let's stay clear of it!" Netto rallied with a hint of nervousness.

"That beam is canalized "annihilation" energy capable of deleting anything on impact. But it's tuned to only affect structures: Net Navis will just lose half of their max HP." Annihilator Man let out.

"Half of their max HP with one attack…!" Both gasped.

"But it takes five minutes to properly load up and calibrate, so it's somewhat of a last resource for me because I can't use any other weapons when I'm about to fire it. And I don't recommend trying to intercept it: you could end up losing a part of your body, even. And he who warns a traitor is not. Or so I think they say… Am I wrong?" He explained next.

"O-O.K., then… Rock Man! Stay away from the guy as much as you can, then!" Netto gulped.

"Y-yeah. Metal Missile! Metal Wheel!"

"Magnet Barrier!"

Both attacks collided with an invisible barrier and were destroyed: the "horizon" seemed to come closer and the gas giant was almost all filling the background by now: the ring object came into better detail to reveal its obvious artificial nature: the inner band had seas, lands and an atmosphere: it looked gigantic as well but dwarfed by the imposing gas giant planet.

"Isn't that ripped off a shooter game named _Halo_ which Meijin – san plays from time to time?" Netto asked.

"Yeah. Correct. That gas giant is named Threshold and that's Installation 04, also referred as "Alpha Halo": the first game, _Halo: Combat Evolved_ takes place there. Each Halo is a world on its own monitored by a Monitor… The simulation will let you have a spaceship's eye view of it, even! Enjoy the tour: it's for free!" Anderson explained before adding a hint of sarcasm.

"Annihilator Tornadoes!"

Two purple and white tornadoes formed around the central platform: Rock Man quickly picked the SW platform as the SE and southern platforms were destroyed by them.

"Two extra platforms left…" He muttered.

"Change of plans… Soul Unison: Fire Soul! Slot In!"

Rock Man switched to the Fire Soul while Annihilator Man loaded his shoulder-mounted cannons: the muzzle suddenly changed to a smaller one and two lock marks locked on Rock Man: the cannons began to act like machineguns and shoot a string of rounds towards the SW platform: Rock Man jumped to the western platform and aimed for Annihilator Man while he slowly spun upon his axis clockwise.

"Double Fire Arm!"

"Guo~h!"

Annihilator Man used his thick arms to protect himself but got some burn marks on them nevertheless.

"Hmmm… 230 HP… 1000 HP… 25% lost, then." Annihilator Man calmly muttered.

"Battle Chip, Fire Punch! Double Slot In!"

"Fire Punch!"

Rock Man jumped towards Annihilator Man but he swung his right arm and hit Rock Man's stomach area: he then hit the chest and pushed Rock Man back into his platform.

"Ugh. 330 HP for me…! 630 HP of damage: over 25% lost as well… This is going to be painful." Rock Man muttered.

"Annihilator Bomb!"

"Yikes!"

Rock Man was forced to jump into the central platform as a white and purple Mega Energy Bomb hit the platform and blew it up: he then ducked to avoid the large arm swinging of Annihilator Man and aimed his Fire Arms at him.

"Double Fire Arm!"

"Magnet Reject!"

The Fire Arms' fire bounced back at Rock Man and inflicted damage to him: he panted and mumbled something under his breath.

"… Given how it was Flame vs Flame, it got a 75% reduction… It normally delivers 220 HP, but, in my case, I only received 55 HP of damage… 685 HP lost… Phew." Rock Man calculated.

"Hah! This is nothing! The true battle is about to start. Battle Stage: Version 2! Execute!"

The stage suddenly expanded in size until it measured exactly ten meters long per five wide: the ground changed to hexagon patterns interconnected with each other and the background switched to display an approach course to Installation 04.

"Whoa!" Both whistled in surprise.

"Annihilator Shockwave!"

"Soul Unison: Roll Soul! Slot In!"

Rock Man switched to Roll Soul and jumped over the white expanding shockwave while aiming the Roll Arrow at Annihilator Man.

"Roll Arrow!"

The arrow got stuck on his forehead and it glowed with a crimson red halo as Annihilator Man tried to remove it: Rock Man's body shone with a shooting blue halo and he looked calm: the arrow self-deleted and Annihilator Man mumbled something.

"That arrow stole 500 HP off me! And you healed that same amount as well…! Clever bothersome guy!" He grumbled.

"Yeah. I lowered my damage to 165 HP and increased yours to 1500 HP: that's just over 38% of your total HP." Rock Man confirmed.

The platform began to descend through the clouds an energy shield formed to protect it from atmospheric reentry: both combatants tensed and ran towards each other.

"Battle Chip, Long Blade, Long Sword! Double Slot!"

"Annihilator Swords!"

Both clashed swords and struggled while dragging their feet forward or backwards: Annihilator Man seemed to be gaining terrain when Rock Man suddenly countered and pushed him back: he then extended his antennae forward and they hit Annihilator Man's jaw while provoking a small jolt: he lowered the guard out of instinct and Rock Man managed to deliver some attacks before setting his guard up.

"250 HP… 1750 HP lost, huh… Close to 44% of my total HP… But there's still more to come!" He muttered.

"Welcome, Reclaimers. I have been waiting for you." A slightly metallic voice with a curious tune rang out.

A metallic gray spheroid with one blue eye-like shape and some patterns on its body suddenly hovered next to them: both stopped to look at it with obvious surprised.

"I am Guilty Spark 343: the Monitor of Installation 04. It would seem you are having an argument. Do you need some help?"

"Eh… No, thanks, but we're sorry if we're intruding." Rock Man improvised out of the blue.

"Y-yeah. And this is an honorific thing, so… Don't you have more stressing duties to do?" Annihilator Man suggested.

"Oh. True, true. I must undergo another firing simulation. Well then… I shall come later. I am a genius! Heh, heh, heh!"

He floated away while the platform finally touched down on the midst of a river and got lodged there: both stopped the battle to look at the landscape surrounding them.

"Whoa." Netto and Rock Man whistled.

"Eh… Impressive decorative work, Anderson – sama…" Annihilator Man ventured.

"Yeah. I was inspired!" Anderson admitted.

"Let's continue." Rock Man called out.

"Fine. Annihilator Me…!"

"Stop! Stop! Stop!"

Guilty Spark suddenly hovered in front of Annihilator Man and sounded hysterical: he stepped back.

"Huh… What's up?" He asked.

"…"What's up", you ask? That attack! If you had made meteors rain down, you could've damage a containment facility and the Flood could break free from hibernation! It would be catastrophic!" He yelled.

"Ah… Hum… Alright, alright… I'll use swords…" He gulped.

"Good! And don't think I don't know what goes on anytime anywhere: this is _MY_ Installation, after all! Later!" Guilty Spark annoyingly told him.

He shot away and Rock Man looked surprised.

"Anderson – sama… That was too much, sir!" Annihilator Man protested aloud.

"Sorry. I wanted to make it realistic." Anderson replied.

"Can't be helped…! Annihilator Punches!"

"Battle Chip, Curse Shield! Slot In!"

Annihilator Man's attack bounced back at him and disoriented him for a moment as Rock Man drew the Roll Arrow bow again.

"Roll Arrow!"

It got stuck to Annihilator Man's forehead for a few seconds before it self-deleted again: Annihilator Man shrugged.

"Just 150 HP of damage… 1900 HP lost: I'm not even at 50% yet! Let's go, Rock Man! Bring out your true power!" Annihilator Man challenged.

"Soul Unison: Omega Soul! Slot In!"

Rock Man transformed into the Omega Soul and drew the O – Saber: he suddenly dashed towards Annihilator Man while leaving "afterimages" on his wake but, when he hit Annihilator Man, a Guy Fawkes straw doll appeared on his place: Rock Man gasped and suddenly felt four _shuriken_ hitting his back.

"Ouch. _Kawarimi_…" He muttered.

"Correct. And that was the classical Guy Fawkes doll which is annually burnt in a bonfire around King Land."

"Hum… I had 18 HP of damage with the latest Roll Arrow, so… It lifted up to 268 HP of damage… Slightly over 13% of my total HP…" Rock Man calculated.

"Purple Cannon! White Cannon! Go!"

Annihilator Man shot rounds from both cannons but Rock Man used the O – Saber to bounce them back and inflict some damage to Annihilator Man: he stopped and calculated the damage.

"Hmmm… 220 HP… 2120 HP lost… Over 50%. But there's still a long shot to go! Start charging sequence… I'm going to turn the tide around with this one attack!" Annihilator Man grinned.

"Coming?" Netto wondered.

"Hra~h! Uo~h! Annihilator Beam! Fire~!" Annihilator Man roared as he built up energy.

The beam headed for Rock Man but he started to glow with a cyan halo: he closed his eyes for a second and opened them again to reveal how they'd become a mix of emerald and chestnut brown: he drew the Rock Buster and began building up cyan-colored energy on it at an amazingly quick rate.

"I c-can't believe this…! Rock Man's readings…! They're off-scale! The sensors are overloaded…!" Anderson gasped.

"What?" Annihilator Man gasped.

"Saito Style Charge Shot… GO~!" Both he and Netto simultaneously announced.

The brutally powerful attack which seemed to go above sound speed given the sound shockwave and the ripples which accompanied it met the Annihilator Beam and brutally pushed it back at its source: Annihilator Man gasped in horror but was unable to react in time as both attacks landed on him and caused a large explosion which wiped off about ten square meters of terrain: the sound of a logout could be barely heard above the turmoil and everything soon died down.

"_My God_…!" Anderson gasped.

The only thing left was a crater and some smoke lingering on the area while Rock Man's glow slowly decreased and he suddenly dropped into his knees being obviously exhausted: Netto, on his real world bedroom, was trying to recover his breath as well.

"We… did it… After 4 years… We brought it up again…" Netto muttered.

"Yeah… We won… Somehow… We woke it up."

"Incredible! I'd never seen such energy display before…! What are you, Reclaimer?" Guilty Spark asked.

"Is this guy a program with AI?" Netto asked.

"… Well… Yeah…" Anderson slowly muttered.

"… I am who I am. Rock Man EXE. Net Savior." Rock Man calmly replied as he tried to stand up.

"I can detect a large draining of your energy… You seemed to have placed around 75% of your total HP into that attack… It was rather risky to drain so much energy all of a sudden, Reclaimer Rock Man." Guilty Spark reported.

"I know… First time doing this, actually… Saito Style is _supposed_ to normally cuts my max HP by half while using that cutoff half to double my attack ratio, yet… I reverse engineered it to output my HP into attack: I spent some intense days trying it out ever since March…" Rock Man admitted as he sat down on the ground.

"Yet… Given how your Operator shows signs of tiredness… Are you two interlinked somehow?" Guilty Spark wondered.

"More or less… Saito Style requires total and perfect synchronism between us two: it goes over the 100% Full Synchro, even. Hence why it takes a stress on both me and Netto – kun…" Rock Man replied.

"Yeah… We really shouldn't need to use it since the Omega Soul alone is normally more than enough, but… This was an exceptional case."

"Splendid! I will be looking over this recording, then."

"Do as you like but please make sure that the Flood doesn't break out: as far as I know, it could lead to a galaxy-wide crisis again like in the time of your builders." Rock Man shrugged.

"Oh! True, true. Maybe we'll meet again, Reclaimer Rock Man. Until then… Farewell!"

Guilty Spark headed out as the "background" slowly disappeared to reveal that the remaining portion of the platform was just sitting on the ground of the factory-like building in the Cyber World: Rock Man exited the place while leaning on the right wall and Blood Shadow helped him lean on him once he was out on the street.

"Good job, Saito – kun! You did it." Blood Shadow congratulated.

"Mwah, hah, hah! That's the Rock Man I know!" Sigma laughed.

"T-thank you… Let's go home… I'm exhausted and I don't think I'll be able to move much for the rest of the day." Rock Man made a weak smile.

"Yo! Good job out there." Omega caught up with them.

"Commander Omega!" Both saluted.

"Thanks, Omega… Did you find Anderson's physical location?"

"It'd seem Dr. Regal was contacted with it: he will be taking care of the formalities and the Net Police won't intercede since Anderson plans on coming to the Net Police HQ anyway."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah… And you guys already know Vincent's motto:_ "welcome and unwelcome to the evil Universe! I'm Evil Vincent! I'm in CHARGE!"_ … Well?" Sigma quoted with a broad grin.

"Please…"

"Heh, heh. The "welcome and unwelcome" part is the most original part of the whole motto. Vincent can beat Dragon – san!" Netto chuckled.

"Oh come on." Omega sighed.

"Let's go back, anyway."

"Back and not back and cover yer back, lads!"

"Cloud Man."

"Mwah, hah, hah. I saw it all! I'm Seeing It All Man!"

Cloud Man's hologram formed there and grinned while the others looked unimpressed.

"So that's the "Saito Style" thing Twilight – sama said you used 4 years ago and had kept buried or sleeping… Amusing! By my nose!"

"Yeah, yeah. Go collect tuna and offer it to Commander Beef & Tuna and then he'll praise you yet!" Netto fumed.

"Not bad, Hikari Netto! No wonder Twilight – sama says you're good at improving mottoes!"

"I'm flattered." Netto drily replied.

"2 years with the guy around are enough to make us be unimpressed at his lack of originality. And his spoiling mania."

"Mwah, hah, hah. Ruin Mode: activate! We're doomed!"

"Another _ToS_ rip-off? That won't save your transparent hide." Omega grumbled.

"Good motto, Omega _Danna_! Patent it or they'll invent Transparent Hide: the newest Spider-Man villain!"

"Huff. I don't find it funny either." Sigma fumed.

"No wonder!" Blood Shadow grumbled.

"Cloud Man! Will you stop meddling around?"

"Don't worry, Swallow Man. All's under control! Mwah, hah, hah."

"I'm skeptical myself."

"Wanna dance a sparkling dance of thunder and thunderbolt?"

"What the…"

Swallow Man formed behind him and Cloud Man turned around to greet him with his classical smug grin: Swallow Man looked annoyed at Cloud Man's crazy random mottoes.

"Huff! Enough! Cloud Man! Behave!"

"Cosmo Man! Mr. Lex Luthor wants to brawl with ya~…"

"Che. I'm fed up with these jokes!"

Cosmo Man showed up next: the others had already left but since Cosmo Man and Swallow Man began to discuss with Cloud Man then they hadn't realized or didn't mind that.

"Behave already!"

"Zoan Gate Man! Use your Remote Gate and get into the Bat-cave!"

"GORHAZLHTOL!"

"Alien Covenant Version? Mwah, hah, hah!"

Zoan Gate Man physically got there and Cloud Man pulled a joke on him which he replied with an undecipherable growl.

"_Bye-bye_, Hong Kong!"

"What's that?"

"Commander Freeze Man! Well. Simple! You remember that in July '97 Hong Kong was returned to Choina as part of the deal signed back in 1898, right? Well! Some foreign power agent tried to sabotage the talks to try to start up a new world war! So Mortadelo and Filemón headed there to try to uncover the agent!"

"Huff. Not those parody Spanish comic books again."

"Heh. Let us listen!"

"Twilight – sama, sir! Don't give them credit, sir! It gets worse, sir!"

"Keep on, Cloud Man! Tell me some gag."

"Delighted, my Lord!"

"Jeez."

Freeze Man's 3D image formed there and Cloud Man began to get in the mood: Twilight was also rather amused while Philip groaned in despair as if he could see what'd happen next.

"Ahem! "And, besides, by coming through the "Underground"… Anonymity's guaranteed! No – one knows us!"… "Hey! It's Mortadelo & Filemón!" … "My heroes!" … "What's up, guys?"… "A signature! I want a signature!" … "Mortadelo! Mortadelo!" … "And Mr. Super? And Bacterio?"… "Grftjx! _Anonymity guaranteed_… _No – one knows us… _We gotta find a hotel and get outta the street!" … "Yeah, Boss… I'll ask around…"… So?"

"Huff. So it was an irony to say they knew them even in Hong Kong?"

"Yeah. It's an in-universe joke, see!"

"I give up."

"Don't be so defeatist, my apprentice."

"I'd prefer 100 Viruses to this." He grimly muttered.

"Alright, guys and fellows and lads and pals…"

"Twilight – sama!" The Darkloids (save Cloud Man) protested.

"My little crafty subordinates!"

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah!"

"You shut up!" Freeze Man growled.

"This is starting to look like those humor scenes in _ToS_…"

"I must agree with you on that, Swallow Man. Huff."

"Huff. I'm fed up with these guys' humor. I'll go collect info elsewhere instead!"

"And so we're reaching the climatic conclusion! Mwah, hah, hah, hah!"


	31. Chapter 31: Surrender

**Chapter 31: Surrender**

09:57 AM (Japan Time), Friday July the 7th…

"… Is this the place, Laser Man?"

"Yes, sir. There's no mistake about it, sir."

Dr. Regal opened a side door of a large factory-like building and walked through a corridor into the underground garage: he then entered the room with the large LCD screen and spotted a camouflaged door which had been left open: he headed over it and knocked on it.

"Please come in, sir…" Anderson replied.

Dr. Regal stepped into the command room and found Anderson standing next to the holographic capsule and seemingly monitoring Annihilator Man's repairs: Guilty Spark was hovering around the area and seemingly examining everything.

"My! What curious technology. My, my! It makes up for those tens of thousands of years waiting for something to happen! Heh, heh, heh!" He was exclaiming.

"Rick." Dr. Regal called out.

"Dr. Regal – sama. It's over, sir. But I hold no regrets or grudges: I did what I could yet I was unable to win. Such is the way of life and we humans flow along it." Anderson calmly told him with a sigh.

"I'm proud of you, Rick. You stopped by your own hands. It's a hard decision to take most of the times. But you were able to do it and that makes you a strong man." Dr. Regal told him.

"Thank you very much, sir."

"It'd seem everything is being wrapped up! My! I'll be eager to go and catalog everything: my masters would be proud of me! Heh, heh, heh! I'm a genius! I'll soon know everything!" Guilty Spark muttered with a hint of amusement.

"Rick…"

"I know, sir. I will be going to the Net Police HQ to turn myself in. I am just waiting for Annihilator Man's repairs to finish: it should take another 10 minutes." Anderson sighed.

He picked a normal chair and sat down on it as he closed one suitcase and locked it: he then picked a blue cap with the Scotland flag set on its front and shook some dust off it.

"So you were behind this screen… Did anyone realize it?" Dr. Regal muttered after looking around.

"I don't think so, sir. Everyone believed I was somewhere else and this screen served to relay orders. Even if they let out this location anyone would quickly think it was a dummy HQ and look elsewhere."

"I see. It's not unlike how Yuriko lived in that refuge next to the underground and I contacted her via LCD screens from the tanker." Dr. Regal exposed.

"I got inspired by your explanations, sir." Anderson nervously confessed while looking elsewhere.

"Don't worry: I won't get angry over that."

"Ah… Thank you very much, sir."

"I can't get enough! I know that Installation 04 was fired just once as part of a critical decision forced by the time's circumstances, yet… I've simulated its firing billions of times by now!"

"Oh come on. There's no need to fire your Installation ever again by the present time, thank you very much. I'm sure your makers would agree with that." Anderson told him.

"But of course. Yet… I'm still wondering if it was a bad idea to store some Flood samples for study… Even though the Sentinels could easily destroy and sterilize them… If there were a species which brought any spaceships, then… It would be a calamity! I should really place a warning sign on that sector's entrance." Guilty Spark muttered.

"Do as you like." Anderson made half a smile.

"Certainly!"

"Time estimated to complete repairs: five minutes."

"… Rick. Your aunt… She doesn't know anything, am I correct?" Dr. Regal suddenly asked.

"… I told her I was invited over by you, sir, so she won't be surprised if I spend some time here. She's gone to a trip with her Bingo Club friends to the Highlands." Anderson admitted.

"I see. You didn't want her to be involved."

"No, sir. My aunt is the only family left to me, sir. I wouldn't want to lose them, sir."

"Say… Have you noticed any trace of Dark Land around your activities recently?" Dr. Regal brought up.

"I did, sir, and that's why I decided to meet with you to split the information. And given how we found that agent in the Aquarius Hotel restaurant… I haven't come out ever since that day out of paranoia: I detected someone taking an interest in the building and roaming close to the perimeter, triggering the sensors… I got a photo but I have no means to check any database to ID him…" Anderson rummaged into a drawer.

He took out a photo of a man on his late fifties or early sixties wearing a brown military cap as a well as a trench coat: he sported sunglasses and had a large brown beard.

"Hmmm… That beard looks like it's a wig. And he must be a high-ranking man, like a General, even… Wait. General… It couldn't be…!"

"What's wrong, sir?"

"It _could_ be the leader of Dark Land in person: the age and overall face structure matches! He could be desperate enough to try to use the new energy system to presume!"

"I see. And they could make a deal with Choina to mass-exploit it and emerge as a major energy coalition…"

"Yes… Something alike that."

"They could give that tech to neighbor countries to buy them into shattering the energetic dominance of Ameroupe and Sharo Nation…"

"Then I'll rather call for a car to drive us to the Net Police HQ: that man could be waiting to set an ambush, even." Dr. Regal told him.

"Please go ahead, sir."

"My, my! This idea of a new energy system would've intrigued my masters! I wonder what the other Monitors would say… They would be totally intrigued!" Guilty Spark commented.

"Bring him along: it'd seem he'll help kill the mood." Dr. Regal suggested with a smile.

"Ah… Thank you very much, sir."

Dr. Regal took out his Link PET and dialed a number: the line rang before it was picked up.

"Dr. Regal?" A rough, dry and cracked – like voice asked.

"Correct. Mr. Denpa. I am need of a car to bring Rick to the Net Police HQ: we suspect that "General" is roaming around the area. He could try to assault us."

"One will be there in less than 15 minutes. Please make sure to lock the place down."

Anderson brought out his Link PET and inputted some commands to lock the door and engaged some screens displaying input from the perimeter sensors: the "General" could be seen examining one of the walls as if trying to locate a secret entrance.

"Hmmm… Monitor! That Reclaimer is trying to enter a restricted area: it'd be best if you brought some of the Sentinels and kindly told him that he can't be allowed inside." Anderson grinned.

"What! Vexation! Accessing unauthorized sections in front of my surveillance…! Come, Sentinels!"

Some hovering metallic robots which had a mainly cone-like body with two short "wings" and one blue "eye" formed next to Guilty Spark and they flew outside via the A/C duct.

"Are those holograms or materialized data?" Dr. Regal frowned.

"Materialized data, sir. I wanted them to be "real" in a sense, sir."

"Repairs: complete." Annihilator Man announced.

"Good. Erase anything left on the system and come into my Link PET: we're going." Anderson commanded.

"Roger, sir!"

"… Leave me alone, you stupid machines! I am the Supreme General of Dark Land!"

"Your title means nothing! This is part of my programming: no Reclaimers are allowed into unauthorized areas! Turn away or I will be obliged to enforce that policy!"

The "General" could be seen yelling at Guilty Spark and his four Sentinels: both Dr. Regal and Anderson grinned at the scene.

"_Where_ might _you_ be going to? _Comrade_?"

Colonel Talos came into view while spinning that custom weapon of his on the right hand: he was accompanied by two agents.

"Talos! You lowlife!" The man hissed.

"_Colonel_ Talos, if you may, Supreme General Ottymen."

"Whatever! Hand over the energy system or that brat's aunt dies!"

"Bluff." Colonel Talos countered.

"Try it!" He challenged.

"There's no need. Ever since we knew his ID, I rang up King Land Division: two agents are escorting the lady and her companions and they intercepted two Lieutenants." Colonel Talos announced.

"Impossible!"

"Not impossible at all, Supreme General. We are always ten steps ahead: I was a real colonel in the last days of the Soviet Sharo, after all. I would recommend to you to go back to your office." Colonel Talos calmly replied without sounding concerned.

"Why, you…! I'll remember this!"

The man ran off while Colonel Talos and the two agents calmly circled and headed for the side door: it unlocked and both Anderson and Dr. Regal came out.

"_Comrade_ Anderson. Good morning."

"Good morning, gentlemen. Should we go?"

"Are those gentlemen coming as well?" Colonel Talos signaled Gulity Spark and the Sentinels with the head.

"They are. Monitor! Emergency protocol is over: the Sentinels can be dismissed. And please return inside of the Cyber World for this trip: we don't want anyone trying to get their hands on your valuable data, do we?" Anderson smiled at him.

"Certainly! I'll enjoy this trip. I'm a genius! Heh, heh, heh!"

Guilty Spark and the Sentinels dematerialized while Anderson and Dr. Regal along with the agents and Colonel Talos climbed into a discrete red Hyundai car: Colonel Talos climbed into the front passenger seat while the second agent picked the rightmost rear seat: Anderson sat on the center while Dr. Regal was on the leftmost seat.

"Let us go, _Comrades_." Colonel Talos commanded.

"Hum! This vehicle is rather basic but it looks intriguing."

"Please don't come out yet."

"Delighted, Reclaimer. I'll just go over the history data. Heh, heh, heh!"

"Well. I guess the guy does help bring some relief to the atmosphere…"

10:48 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Welcome. We have been waiting for you, Mr. Anderson."

"… There is no need for "Mr.", Commissioner Kifune: I am not of age yet, sir."

Anderson was sitting on a chair placed in front of Commissioner Kifune's desk with Dr. Regal standing close to him.

"Anderson – kun, then. So you want to take responsibility for your actions while at the head of the organization "Rama"?"

"Yes, sir. I am fully aware of the harm I have inflicted. I have already sent a letter to that young man's, Prophetess' victim, parents to announce that even though I didn't allow for it, responsibility falls into me at the end, thus another reason why I am surrendering, sir." He exposed.

"I see. However…"

"Yes, sir? Is there something else I should do, sir? I know I will end up being sentenced, so… Please be honest with me, sir. I have studied the current legislation, sir." Anderson calmly replied.

"… I spoke with a judge and he suggested a better outcome to this affair: a sentence in community hours. You would have to produce something which contributes to society. And that would be the Duel Stage: it would become a boom overnight and generate benefits which could be destined to philanthropist activity. After all… You haven't directly wished for anyone's harm or tried to kill anyone, so… Two robberies is no big deal, that same judge told me." Commissioner Kifune explained.

"R-really, sir?"

"I thought as much." Dr. Regal muttered.

"Indeed. And that was the opinion of a veteran judge after I left him some days' time to look over the list of acts perpetrated by Rama. Ironically… Higureya's reputation increased as a result of that small theft and everyone seems to believe his Battle Chips hold more value than anyone thought…" Commissioner Kifune continued.

"It couldn't be…" Anderson looked skeptical.

"Ironies of life, I guess." Dr. Regal formed a small smile.

"So… Anderson – kun: do you still have the means to produce the Duel Stages? We could give some of the "confiscated" ones to some Game Centers and it could become the next-gen Net Battle system for the years to come." Commissioner Kifune asked.

"That factory which served as an HQ was where I built them… They're not terribly complex: I got inspired by the concept of MMPORPGs so that's why they allow up to 4 Net Navis at the same time. However… Even though they use 2GB of RAM memory and approximately the same speed for processors, Net Navis whose programs measure over 750 MB limit its functionality, hence why it was always just two Navis using it." Anderson explained.

"Ah. I see. However… You _can_ produce them, right?"

"Yes, sir. I could start right now if you wished to, sir."

"No. There's no rush. Today you need to rest. But I think you don't wish to return to that building…" Commissioner Kifune brought a hand to his chin and looked thoughtful.

"Hmmm… A place for me to stay at… Ah. Maybe…" Anderson trailed off and seemed to have had an idea.

"Do you know someone?"

"Well… I believe that Aru… Ah!" He began muttering only to cut himself.

"…"Aru"…? Wait… Arushi? Wasn't he the boy who disabled that bomb in Tokyo Tower? He's a student of the Hikari twins' institute, isn't he? So you knew him?" Dr. Regal asked.

"… Eh… I did, sir…"

"… Was he one of your men?" Dr. Regal grasped.

"Yes, sir… But… That of the bomb was mere coincidence, sir… He did a very good on-spot job, though…" Anderson sighed.

"Well then… It's decided. We will speak more on the days to come regarding…"

"… Regarding how this world's technological varieties never cease to amaze me! I take passion into studying other technologies and comparing them to our masters' technological evolution. Fascinating! Really fascinating!" Guilty Spark suddenly interceded.

"Monitor! You shouldn't cut a person off when they're speaking. I doubt that being part of your protocols, even." Anderson sounded exasperated at it.

"It's an AI program which emulates a videogame character which, in turn, is an independent free-moving AI robot… He looked nice so we decided to keep him even though he was originally only intended to be part of the decoration in Rock Man's and Annihilator Man's battle…" Dr. Regal explained.

"Oh. I see. Well… It can't be blamed." He smiled.

"I am sorry for his behavior, sir, but… He's supposed to have spent over 95,000 years alone in a gigantic 10,000 km wide ring worldlet, so… His manners are totally dusted, sir…" Anderson apologized: he was red by now.

"Let's not mind it. Have a good morning and…"

"… And tell me the way back to my Installation, too! I need to write down a copy of my data to free memory allocation!" Guilty Spark added.

"Jeez." Anderson brought a hand to his forehead in defeat.

"Way _too_ well programmed, I'd daresay, Anderson – sama…" Annihilator Man muttered.

"Do excuse me." Anderson stood up and bowed.

"Let's go, Rick." Dr. Regal placed his right hand over his shoulder.

"Yes, sir. Good morning, gentlemen."

"Where the heck is my Installation?" Guilty Spark yelled.

11:05 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Oi! Arushi. Incoming call… The number matches Priest – sama's: so ya would be better off picking it up!"

"Perfect."

Arushi picked the Link PET from the living room's sofa right armrest and pressed the "REPLY" button: Anderson appeared onscreen.

"Eh… Priest – sama…?" Arushi asked.

"Just call me Anderson, Arushi. There's no need for codenames anymore: Rama has been dissolved. However… I've been granted a way to help society with the Duel Stages. The only loose end is where I'll stay at, so… You wouldn't mind sharing the flat with me? We'll divide the price _fifty_-_fifty_, too." Anderson told him.

"Eh… I am honored, sir…" He slowly replied.

"Now, now… I'm no longer your boss, Arushi. I'm just a Scottish tourist in Japan." Anderson smiled.

"Eh… Then come anytime, eh…"

"Anderson – kun is fine."

"Eh… Anderson – kun… Sounds… eh… strange, really…" He muttered.

"Guess I should be adding the "kun" to your name too, Arushi – kun. We'll be flat mates. Ain't it exciting?"

"I'd be more exciting if you didn't bring troublemakers to my Installation now that I've found it, thank you very much!" Guilty Spark exclaimed on the background.

"Don't mind the voice. I'm on my way there."

"Eh… I will put some order to it, sir."

"Good. Be there in 10 minutes."

"I can't have enough!" Guilty Spark exclaimed.

Arushi quickly picked a broom and swept some dust off the ground: he used the mop to cleanse the ground and then cleansed some of the furniture as well as opening the balcony door to allow some fresh air inside: Balrog looked on as he crossed past the living room several times in a row.

"Whoa. That's gotta be the fastest _aibou_ has ever bothered to cleanse the apartment." He muttered.

"Phew. I think it's passable enough." Arushi muttered.

DING DONG

"Whoa! It's been 10 minutes already… Cut it in time, I guess…" He muttered.

He headed over to the door and unlocked it to find Anderson standing there.

"Eh… Ah… Welcome. Please come inside." He improvised.

"Thanks."

Anderson stepped in and began to look around while Arushi began to sweat out of nervousness.

"It looks clean." Anderson commented.

"T-thank you very much." Arushi hastily thanked.

"Clean! My Installation is cleaner than anything else: all important structures are kept clean no matter what!" Guilty Spark exclaimed.

"Monitor: save those comments for your Sentinels." Annihilator Man sarcastically told him.

"Vexation! Sentinels do not possess enough intelligence."

"Don't mind it. So… Do you have a spare _futon_ which I could use or do I need to use the sofa?" Anderson asked.

"Ah… I have a spare _futon_ rolled up on the closet… I should cleanse it a bit but it'll be fine… Anderson – kun… It sounds weird."

"Not really. After all, I will only be there until late August: I must return to Scotland by then. So it's not like I'm intending to hang around here forever, Arushi - kun." Anderson smiled at him.

"I s-see…" Arushi looked nervous.

"… Vexation! What is this? Who dared to enter my Control Room? Webmaster? Who is that?" Guilty Spark exclaimed.

"That'd be me when I was setting the scenery up." Anderson calmly replied.

"What "scenery"? Nothing is different!" He countered.

"Crap. He can't think about existing "outside" the in-game universe, so he doesn't get it…" Anderson sighed in defeat.

"Huh… I think that… We will be very good flat-mates…" Arushi improvised.

"Yeah. Let's have a toast with some water." Anderson suggested.

Arushi rushed into the kitchen and picked a bottle of water to serve some on two glasses: he brought them to the living room and sat down on the sofa on the left side while Anderson had picked the right side.

"Cheers. To our flat-sharing adventure…" Anderson grinned.

"Uh… Yeah. To our flat-sharing adventure…"

"To the adventure of cataloging everything on existence: that's perfect to kill those dull and bland 95,000 years!" Guilty Spark exclaimed.

"Monitor… Can't you do anything else but yell?" Annihilator Man asked.

"Maybe a cat will think it's a toy." Balrog laughed.

"Vexation! Vexation! Vexation!" Guilty Spark yelled in a row.

"… And to survive Spark's yells, too…" Anderson sighed.

"Yeah… Guess so…" Arushi made a little chuckle.

Both made the toast and drank the water up before leaving the glasses on the desk and shaking hands…


	32. Chapter 32: Summer's start

**Chapter 32: Summer's start**

13:28 PM (Japan Time), Saturday July the 8th…

"… Greetings!"

"Whoa!"

"_By George_!"

"What's that funky floating sphere?"

"I do not know."

"Vexation!"

"Heh, heh, heh."

The Maha Ichiban's staff was taken aback by the sudden apparition of Guilty Spark on the scene: Madoi's question obviously irritated him: Dr. Wily, sitting on the rearmost table, merely chuckled.

"Tee, heh, heh. A speaking baseball ball…!" Colored Man laughed.

"No way…" Elec Man looked skeptical.

"I guess that thing is fire-proof…" Fire Man muttered.

"It looks like a robotic spheroid…" Magic Man ventured.

"I am 343 Guilty Spark: Monitor of Installation 04! I cannot bear vexation!"

"W-where did this guy come out from?" Hinoken wondered.

"It has to be Morgangantz's newest prank, _by George_!"

"Vexation! I am not intended to be a comedic Monitor!"

"Spark! Are you in there?" Anderson called out.

"Come before they try to turn you into a _hors d'ouevre_!" Arushi added.

"Certainly! I waste no time with such ones. Farewell!"

Guilty Spark floated out of the restaurant leaving the other four puzzled as Wily kept on chuckling…

13:34 PM (Japan Time)…

"… O. K. Here's the so-famous Game Soul Game Center… We can start here, I'd say… What nerve!"

"Yeah… But we're just here to check the public's reaction to it… And show them the Net Police license that we're only allowed to be here for 1 hour: it's a demonstration of a _prototype_."

Anderson and Arushi stopped near the Game Soul Game Center: Anderson carried an attaché case on his right hand and was peeking towards the building while having sunglasses on plus his Scotland flag cap.

"It'd seem something is bothering you, Reclaimers. Maybe I could help somehow?" Guilty Spark offered.

"Let's drive some of them away… Say there's a 50% discount on ice-creams at the 4th district shopping mall Italian ice-cream shop… It doesn't matter if you don't know what it means: it'll work." Anderson improvised in a whisper.

"My. It sounds like something surprising will happen. Heh, heh! Tunneling across my ring I go~!" He improvised a tune.

Guilty Spark headed inside, and, a few seconds later, a crowd of elementary school students ran outside the building: both sighed in relief and then headed in like nothing weird was going on: the main room only had about four middle school students having Net Battles.

"Four is better than thirty: we can handle that. And, besides… A Net Police inspector is waiting outside just in case something was to go rough with the guys." Arushi whispered.

They headed over to a corner and Anderson set his attaché case on the ground: he then pressed his thumbs against two sensors on the locks and they flashed green: a small camera scanned his iris next and he then crouched next to it to speak to a mike.

"… _Cogito, ergo sum_." He whispered.

"ID confirmed: unlocking."

The case unlocked and Anderson took the Duel Stage out: he inputted a command into it using his Link PET linked with an USB cable to turn it on and then disengaged the wire: Arushi was blocking the sight and making it look like they were checking on a circuitry panel in case anyone might be looking: Guilty Spark was also keeping them distracted by hovering around the room.

"Greetings, Reclaimers! I am Guilty Spark 343: the Game Soul's new "mascot": I am here to announce that clones are about to rain down into his facility owned by General Grievous of the Separatist Army." He announced.

"Whoa. Grievous owns this place?" One student wondered.

"Don't mind the guy: the programmer was clearly a _Star Wars_ hardcore fan." Another shrugged.

"Ahem… Excuse us!" Anderson called out.

"What's up?" Someone asked.

"We want to make a promotion of a new open-licensed Net Battle system prototype… Would you like to collaborate?" Arushi continued.

"And where's that system?" One looked around.

"Here: we call it Duel Stage." Anderson signaled it.

"Whoa. Looks practical." One whistled in surprise.

"Oi! Can you carry this around, then?" Another gasped.

"Of course: you no longer depend on those bulky machines. And it can be used here, too, or anywhere you might like. It allows for up to four simultaneous Net Navis as long as they are under the 750 MB category, too!" Arushi added.

"Cool. How much time can we play?" The fourth asked.

"Our Net Police permit limits us to 1 hour per place. But with your collaboration it's likely that this machine will be mass-produced very soon: maybe even under a year from now."

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go! Plug In!"

"Transmission!"

Four standard Net Navis appeared on the arena and the middle school students looked on with awe.

"Holograms are one third of the real size! Net Battles are carried out like always, so… Go ahead! Oi! Spark! Try to tell anyone who wants to come in that we're fixing the electrical system and announce that there's a pop idol roaming undercover in the 1st district." Anderson whispered to Guilty Spark.

"Certainly! No interlopers should interfere with such an important testing being underway. Heh, heh, heh!"

Guilty Spark hummed a tune and headed away while the Navis began to battle: Anderson and Arushi sat down on the corner and looked on with smiles.

"This will be a success. I'm surprised the owners didn't try to kick us out yet…" Arushi commented.

"I guess Commissioner Kifune explicitly told them not to interfere: that could be a reason, too." Anderson guessed.

"I'd rather say my might is scaring them!" Balrog laughed.

"Maybe." Annihilator Man shrugged.

"I'll later introduce you to the others: they're really nice people. Nelaus – kun is a nice guy, too." Arushi told him.

"Yeah. Guess I gotta know them in person." Anderson smiled.

"Heh, heh, heh! Oh! Human crowds are really predictable: however, there were some females which didn't run off along with the rest of the crowd: they claim there's a conspiracy. What should I do?" Guilty Spark asked as he came in.

"Girls… Should've expected it, huh… Tell them Daniel Craig is on the 5th district scouting locations for his next 007 film: it'll work."

"Roger, Reclaimer. It amuses me, really. I'm a genius! Heh, heh! Ringing my ring I go~!" He hummed a new tune.

"Crap! I got logged out!" One student exclaimed.

"Go!"

"Beat them!"

"Blow them up!"

"Good news: no interlopers roam around the perimeter of this facility anymore, Reclaimers." Guilty Spark reported.

"Great! Let's look on: I guess this will be over soon at this intense rate they're going." Arushi grinned.

"Shit! That guy beat me, too!"

"I'm the big boss!"

"That's me!"

"Punch him!"

"It is obvious that no refined language will be used during a conflict or battle…" Guilty Spark muttered.

"Nope. That's the humans' problem." Anderson confirmed.

"No way! I lost to that _Kawarimi_ plus Program Advance combo, too! This guy's too good."

"But the system rocks, doesn't it, guys?"

"Yeah! It sure does. Good stuff, you guys. Keep it up and everyone will soon want this."

"Thanks for the feedback: feel free to comment about it. But we can't reveal the next test grounds: it may be in another city altogether! See ya around." Arushi grinned.

Anderson picked the Duel Stage and shut it off before storing it inside of the attaché case and locking it.

"Let's go, _aibou_."

"Okay, _Danna_."

"The Tech Reclaimers set forth!" Guilty Spark dramatized.

Both of them quickly snuck away from the building, and, given how they were looking behind to check they weren't being followed, they collided with someone.

"Oof!"

"Whoa! Arushi – kun!"

"E - Eboshi – kun!"

"Who…?"

"A new Tech Reclaimer has arrived?"

The three of them stood to their feet and shook some of the dust off them while looking surprised.

"Wait… Wasn't he along with you on the day you disabled the bomb in Tokyo Tower, Arushi – kun?" Anderson asked.

"Yeah… Eboshi Shuuichi – kun: his father is the magician Mr. Hat and he's got some cool magic tricks, too." Arushi introduced.

"Please…" He turned red.

"He is Rick Anderson – kun from Edinburgh: he used to be my boss until yesterday. Now we're flat-mates." Arushi admitted.

"Your boss…?" Eboshi frowned.

"Yeah. I was part of Rama: the guy named Past, if anyone told you about it or you heard about it." Arushi confessed.

"Whoa! It must've been cool." Eboshi whistled in surprise.

"What is our next target, Reclaimers?" Guilty Spark asked.

"Whoa! A talking baseball…"

"Vexation! I am not such a vulgar and invaluable object!" Guilty Spark got annoyed.

"Don't mind the guy: he's a program I made which has too much of a mood when he's compared to vulgar objects." Anderson shrugged.

"Huh… By the way… It'd seem Ayanokouji – san is organizing something on her mansion's gardens again… Should we check it out?" Eboshi suggested to them.

"Let's go, then. It might be worth it." Arushi grinned.

"Let's hope she doesn't set the lawn-mowers on us." Anderson warned with a hint of sarcasm.

"Lawn-mowers? Another word I have to add to my database, it'd seem. If you don't mind, I'll go download some data to allocate space. I shall follow your portable device's logical pathway to get back there. Make sure to enlighten any other Reclaimers to use _proper_ respect. Later."

He suddenly disappeared and Eboshi blinked in surprise.

"Don't mind Spark. Let's get moving." Arushi told Eboshi.

"Yeah… Let's…" Eboshi muttered.

"So? Have you been able to elude Sakurai – san's steel fingers from embedding into you, Eboshi – kun?" Arushi teased in a whisper.

Eboshi got red and looked elsewhere: Arushi chuckled while Anderson looked surprised.

"Lead the way, Ebony." Arushi joked.

"Jeez!" Eboshi protested.

"Heh, heh. Amusing." Anderson chuckled.

"Enough already!" Eboshi groaned.

They didn't see Twilight and Philip looking on from close by while grinning.

"Heh, heh, heh. Ms. FP and Ms. Witch will eventually rise… And we too!"

13:51 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Whoa. What a huge garden…!"

"Tee, heh, heh! My garden is unbeatable."

"So you're Miss Ayanokouji?"

"Yeah! There's no beating Gabcom!"

Anderson was speaking with Yaito while walking around the garden with Eboshi and Arushi: he looked surprised at the scale of the gardens while Yaito was boasting.

"I'm afraid I did." Anderson told her.

"What?" She frowned.

"Wait a min."

Anderson placed the attaché case on the ground and underwent the biometric checks before opening it and taking the Duel Stage out: Yaito's jaw hit the floor.

"Those things! I heard about them and wanted one, but the Net Police had confiscated all of them as "investigation material"! How the heck did ya get your hands on one?" She exclaimed.

"I'm the designer and I've been granted a permit to test it out amongst the general public: it'll become the newest Net Battling system in a matter of a few years which will make those bulky Net Battling machines unnecessary." Anderson explained.

"Then give me the schematics and we'll produce them! I'll give you 50% of the profits!" Yaito exclaimed.

"Sorry. But the Net Police wants this to be an "open" license, so anyone can produce this. It's not unlike cell phones or TVs, anyway." Anderson replied.

"Don't tell me IPC will be allowed to make those things!"

"Didn't I say it? Anyone will be able to: but monopolies are forbidden."

"Cha…!" She looked annoyed.

"Reality, Miss, reality." Anderson calmly replied.

"Greetings, Reclaimer! Your vital functions' readings seem to have increased: do you need to check with a Medical Officer?" Guilty Spark suggested.

"What the…! Nobody…!" She began.

"…"My name is nobody"… Do you mean this intriguing quote from the classical piece of literature named the _Odyssey_?" Guilty Spark quickly suggested next.

"Where's my shotgun?" She hissed.

"Eh… Yaito – sama… We never had such a thing." One of the maids looked surprised.

"Yaito. What's with that behavior?" Her father asked as he walked over to her.

"Dad! This jerk won't grant us monopoly on the next Net Battling machine which is gonna be the revolution!" Yaito yelled.

"That's because the Net Police decided it…" Anderson sighed.

"If the Net Police decided it, then so be it! Yaito. I've spoiled you too much during this time. You're 14 already: you should start behaving like a responsible mistress." Her father replied.

"What!"

"And even though you have generated benefit sometimes and we've never been indebted, you have too many delights. You should realize that you can't have everything on life." He told her.

"Jeez!"

Yaito ran off and climbed into the tree-house, slamming the door shut behind her.

"A crisis is going on, it'd seem." Guilty Spark muttered.

"Yo! Anderson."

"We finally meet."

Anderson turned to see Netto and Saito walking up to him along with Nelaus and Dr. Regal.

"Dr. Regal – sama!" He gasped.

"It'd seem your test was a success: rumors are already flying across Facebook and Twitter!" Dr. Regal told him.

"Really?" Both he and Arushi gasped.

"Why. Arushi – kun… Why do you tag along?" Nelaus asked.

"Well…" Arushi trailed off.

"'Cause, for us, he keeps on being our _Danna_, that's why!" A heavy voice exclaimed.

"Oi, oi! That Balrog guy is here." Isaac exclaimed.

"Then… You were "Past"?" Nelaus asked.

"Yeah… I was…" Arushi trailed off.

"Why. Our deduction proved correct: he was someone from our school but not from our class." Saito muttered.

"I guess reading Agatha Christie books sharpened your deduction sense, Saito - niisan." Netto grinned.

"Mwah, hah, hah! Miss Marple taught the guy well!" Sigma laughed.

"Yeah. Sure." Blood Shadow drily replied.

"Good afternoon." Yaito's father greeted.

"Good afternoon, sir. Isn't Yaito – chan around?" Netto asked.

"She got a mood, so… She's locked herself in the tree-house." He admitted with a sigh.

"And I did tell her to check with a Medical Officer!" Guilty Spark added.

"Whoa. Guilty Spark is around, like Dr. Regal said." Saito whistled in surprise.

"Face and voice comparison reveal an overall 85% resemblance to Rock Man EXE: is he a lookalike, perhaps?" Guilty Spark asked.

"Eh… Yeah. True. But I don't mind it, really." Saito replied.

"Mwah, hah… Hear out Vincent's latest motto: "_Pick the backdoor and go out through there to find a fanged man-eater shoe which is gonna destroy Calderón's silly necktie! Bwa, hah, hah, ha~h!"_ … So?" Sigma quoted.

"That's too… weird." Blood Shadow groaned.

"He should appoint for a King Land humor show, I'd say." Annihilator Man muttered.

"Eboshi – kun…" A sinister voice called out.

Eboshi gulped and felt a shiver go down his spine as a hand was placed over his right shoulder: he turned around to face Meiru's rather pissed off face.

"Oh… Sakurai – san… Good afternoon… Are you fine?"

"No. How did you dare to run off like that?" She grumbled.

"But we hadn't made any plans for the day, had we, Sakurai – san? So, I went to find Arushi – kun and…" He justified.

"And you did something?" She questioned next.

"Well. We came here along with Anderson – kun… And we were chatting until Sakurai – san appeared…" Eboshi replied.

"… This reeks." She muttered.

"Eh… But I am a witness!" Anderson exclaimed.

"If "witness" means to have a record of what happened, then I could provide it if necessary." Guilty Spark offered.

"Hmmm…" She looked suspicious.

"Oh! Meiru – chan. Maybe you could help Yaito." Yaito's father suddenly called out.

"Oh? Is something the matter with Yaito – chan?" She suddenly switched to an innocent smile.

"She got a mood, so… Maybe you could talk her out of it? We don't want to have a sour party, do we?" He suggested.

"Yes, sir… Leave it to me~!"

She ran towards the tree-house while the maids began to set portable chairs, a Hi-Fi audio set, and some tables with plastic descartable cups, dishes, forks and knives.

"Wow. It looks like we're gonna have a cool party." Netto whistled in surprise.

"Yo! Where's my Meiru – chan?" Dekao asked he walked in.

"So! Ever since when I am "yours" so as to speak? Dekao – kun?" Meiru's voice rang out with obvious annoyance.

Dekao turned and looked nervous upon spotting her ill-humored face and sinister glare.

"Jump down from your "fantasy world" and hit the land: this is reality and I never had any interest on you, Dekao – kun. Learn not to brag and be rational: wasn't it you who allowed Darkloid Burner Man to escape because you got in the way of Netto's mission over four years ago? So? What are ya gonna say?" She exposed.

"Ah… Eh… That's… Hum… But…" He muttered.

"No "buts": this is reality. Go date a silly _clichéd_ girl: but I've already picked Eboshi – kun because I decided so. Move your legs and do something useful like setting up the tables." Meiru made a dismissing gesture as she walked away.

"Wha~h! The world is horrible~! Everything ends up badly~!" Dekao cried in desperation as he collapsed into his knees.

"It would seem this Reclaimer is in need of meeting a Psychology Officer: most likely symptoms match with post-battlefield depression as documented during the Flood War." Guilty Spark suggested.

Everyone was barely holding back their laughter at his diagnostic while Dekao kept on banging the ground out of frustration.

"… And I don't have any need for ya, Gorilla Man. My shiny bright knight is a billion times cooler than ya." Roll was telling Guts Man.

"Gutsu~! Roll – chan doesn't like Guts Man, guts!"

"Hey. Ya still have Aki – chan left." She teased.

"O~h! AKI – CHA~N! GUTSU~!"

"Desu! Aki – chan! Please wait for me, desu!" Ice Man gasped.

"Ice Man too, huh…" Tooru muttered.

"Good Chips, de masu!" Higure made his entrance.

"Analysis suggests this Reclaimer might have stolen component chipsets from the Installation." Guilty Spark announced.

Everyone tried to hold their laughter back again as Higure began to sweat and waved his arms and legs in a comical manner.

"Not me, de masu! It wasn't me, de masu!"

"Yamitarou. Should've seen it coming from you, I'd say." Nunber Man muttered with a hint of annoyance.

"Shah, shah, shah! This guy is an _otaku_, after all!" Needle Man grinned.

"Guess so!" Yuriko shrugged as she entered along with Mariko.

"Oh? Dekao – kun? What's up?" Mariko asked.

"Wha! Mariko – sensei! Eh… Nothing, sensei!" He gasped and quickly stood up.

"Is that so… And Higure – san looks like he's practicing one of those India dances I saw over the TV once…" She commented

"Yay! My shinning great brave knight came!" Roll exclaimed.

"… Yeah. Sorry, but could you wait a min? I need to check with Blood and Sigma." Omega sighed.

"O. K., Arthur!" She teased.

"Jeez. I'm not a Knight of the Round Table."

"Commander Omega! Nothing strange happened." Sigma reported.

"Yes, sir. No abnormalities were detected, either."

"Yay! Party time!" Trill giggled as he ran in.

"Jeez! Trill! Don't go so fast." Iris protested.

"Well! I'd rather say all's well if it ends well." Yaito's father suggested with a broad smile.

"True, sir." Enzan confirmed as he made his non-gallant entrance.

"This guy…!" Yaito muttered.

"… Doesn't stop banging the coffee vending machines out of frustration and pride… Is that it?"

"Jeez. That was too long, Charles."

"Blame me, Martini."

"Martin!"

Charles and Martin joined the party: Martin looked annoyed at Charles' nicknames while he was grinning.

"You know College of Charleston: he doesn't stop rollin' and trollin' 'round the district." Davis whispered to Lander.

"Heh! Anyone who cheats in my _Saloon_ gets a bath of cold water and an express exit through the open window!" Lander grinned.

"Quit it with "College of Charleston"!" Charles groaned.

"We're equal now." Martin grinned.

"Sorry for the delay…" Vadous apologized as he came in (he was sporting a black business suit and necktie along with blue contacts) and made a weak chuckle.

"Good! It'd seem everyone is here." Yaito looked satisfied.

"As far as I can check with the list… So it'd seem, Yaito – sama." Glyde announced.

"Today's party is a karaoke party! Sing your favorite songs or dance to their rhythmic! Have a snack or a drink: of course, everything is alcohol-free! Go ahead!" Yaito exclaimed.

"Oho." Sigma grinned.

"What are you up to?" Blood Shadow sounded suspicious.

"Mwah, hah, hah… Watch a master at work." Sigma chuckled.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"Ya always have bad feelings about everything."

"Commander Omega… What should we do about it, sir?" Blood Shadow asked him in a hushed tone.

"Hmmm…" Omega seemed to be thinking.

Sigma suddenly plugged into the Hi-Fi set and the James Bond theme began to play out: most of the public quickly began to follow the rhyme: Blood Shadow and Omega looked around in a surprised manner.

"Whoa. And here I thought he was going to go for Rasmus' Dead Promises theme."

"It'd seem Sigma has the ace of hearts up his right sleeve." Vadous joked with a shrug.

"Please…" Omega slapped his face in defeat.

"Dave~…! I am HAL's ghost…! Be afraid…!" Charles played the ghost.

"Very original, College of Charleston." Davis grumbled.

14:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Oh yeah! I'm kicking baddies. Destruction Barrage!"

"That's the spirit, Destruction Man."

Angou Saizou was playing a Virus Battle game within a Game Center: Destruction Man landed several punches into a pack of Garuus thus punching them into the air and deleting them: he was grinning as always and moving very fast: a crowd of curious had formed around the machine and looked awed.

"Next is… Whoa!"

Four Dragon – Type Viruses appeared: there was a Fire Dragon, an Aqua Dragon, an Elec Dragon and a Plant Dragon: the four of them looked menacing enough.

"No big deal, _Danna_! Destruction Spiral!"

Destruction Man suddenly spun around his axis and formed a tornado which pulled the four Viruses in: he jumped over their heads and plunged some needles set on his knuckles through their heads: the Viruses shrieked and were deleted one after the other while Destruction Man jumped out of the tornado and gracefully landed on the ground while storing the weapons.

"Oh yeah! Bring it on, twerps! I'm boilin' for more!" He exclaimed.

"Heh. I guess this summer will be worth it." Angou grinned.

The Dream Virus showed up and Destruction Man calmly circled around it and suddenly jumped over it while bombarding it with missiles to distract it: he quickly plunged his needles into the chest, cut it open, and fired machinegun fire at the core program: the Dream Virus blew up as Destruction Man landed and shook the dust off him.

"Oh yeah! New record!" He laughed.

"Summer's just starting: and it's going to get better." Angou chuckled.

The viewers clapped while Angou blinked his Navi an eye…

15:19 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmmm… This place feels good. Disconnected from the stress of the city and surrounded by calm and relaxing forests… This is just what I needed."

"I am glad of it, sir."

Utsuki Shingen was trekking across a forest set uphill: he had a backpack on and sported a sleeveless brown t-shirt plus grayish shorts and mountains boots: Axe Man was projecting out of his Link PET.

"Now… We will be taking part in some Net Battle tournaments but we won't be beheading anyone else: that was out of character. And we shouldn't be so overconfident anymore." Utsuki muttered.

"Roger, sir."

Utsuki climbed another part of the hill and reached a clearing in which he sat down and took out a map.

"Good. I'm about 30 minutes from the village. I could take a rest here and then get there at a calm pace. Rama allowed me a little change of airs, but now that it's over, it's back to work. But I always can come up with something new given my researches." Utsuki commented aloud after reading the map.

"Roger, sir. I shall revise my battle strategies as well as speed stats, defense stats and attack stats: a good balance must be achieved if we want to be efficient in battle, sir." Axe Man calmly announced.

"Good. But don't try to rush it: take all necessary time and wisely make good use of it. That's how things should be done in life. Do you get my point, Axe Man?"

"I do, Utsuki – sama." He confirmed.

"This summer might be more interesting than I thought, even. Well… Let's simply enjoy it." Utsuki formed a grin.

He stared at the blue skies and looked satisfied…

15:33 PM (Japan Time)…

"… No way!"

"Way! My flames are unbeatable!"

"No! Master Hinoken's flames are unbeatable, you imitator!"

"…"Imitator" would not be the correct word to use in this context, Reclaimer. That program's battle capabilities are clearly at Class X while yours doesn't even amount to Class VI."

"Shaddup!"

"I beg your pardon, Reclaimer?"

"Grah!"

"Define "grah" if you may, Reclaimer."

"I'm cursed!"

"…"Curse" is not scientifically proved."

"Ooyama – kun: Spark is listing all of your flaws!"

"Damn!"

"Define "damn" if you may, Reclaimer."

Most of the public was laughing upon seeing Dekao losing a Duel Stage Net Battle with Arushi: Guilty Spark was innocently asking for definitions and Dekao looked annoyed: Arushi was chuckling.

"Balrog Class X… Oi! Is there anything over Class X?" Omega called out.

"Indeed, Reclaimer. Up to Class XV. I would place you at Class XII, Reclaimer Omega."

"XII out of XV, huh? Not bad." Omega grinned.

"Rock Man would get a XIII, though. His power statistics are brutally elevated from time to time."

"Obviously." Omega shrugged.

"Was there anyone who got Class XV back when the war?" Vadous asked.

"Sadly, my knowledge about troop deployment and such is very limited. I just know Class XV's specifications require power levels to be able to be more or less parallel to a fusion energy reactor's levels."

"Whoa." Everyone whistled in surprise.

"Then there are similar ranks regarding Combat Skin: all of you seem to have standard Combat Skins ranging Classes IV to IX." He quickly added as an extra note.

"O. K.! Let's go for the big bang finale!" Sigma announced.

He transferred into the Hi-Fi equipment again and the _Halo_ theme began to play, to everyone's surprise.

"Homage to the newest member of the Crazy Club!" Sigma laughed.

"Whoa." Anderson looked surprised.

"So, Nelaus? Are you content?" Isaac whispered.

"Yeah. I've casted my doubts aside." Nelaus looked relieved.

"And we'll be a more dynamic couple!" Aura giggled.

"Yeah. Totally dynamic, Isaac – ku~n!" Felicia added.

"Netto – kun. A perfect summer is waiting for us, I'd say." Saito whispered.

"Yeah. Don't ya think the same, Enzan?" Netto asked.

"I do. Let's tackle this crazy summer." Enzan grinned.

"Crazier than Crazy Man, I'd even say." Blues joked.

"Rick. I'm proud of you." Dr. Regal told him.

"Thank you, sir…" Anderson looked relieved as well.

"Let's rumble and mumble! Ookarada and Gorilla Man will play _Donkey Kong_'s theme next!" Sigma laughed.

"Oho. That'd be fitting." Blood Shadow looked amused.

"No way!" Both moaned.

"Tee, heh, heh! That's what ya get, fatty!" Yaito giggled.

"Yaito – chan…" Tooru didn't find it amusing.

"Tee, heh, heh!" Both Meiru and Aura giggled.

"That sounds fun." Enzan lifted his eyebrows.

"It'll be quite a show, I daresay." Saito ventured.

"The century's show, even!" Netto grinned.

"Gra~h!" Dekao roared.

"I am still waiting for the definition of that word, Reclaimer."

Dekao ran off into the tree house and shut the door.

"So, I went and used a hologram of Boba Feet to scare the hell outta those creepy guys: they ran like they were F-1 cars!" Arushi was telling Eboshi

"Yeah! They were afraid of MY might!" Balrog laughed.

"Wow. Cool…" Eboshi whistled in surprise.

"_Kyoudai_~… I'm still around… Me and my apprentice~…" Twilight's voice rang out of Vadous' PET.

"So what."

"Hah! Good reply. So what? So that we'll meet again! Nyah, hah, hah!"

"Sorry if I am late…"

Mr. Denpa came in while sporting a black wool cap and sunglasses: he was clad in a simple reddish t-shirt, jeans and black sneakers as well.

"Mr. Denpa! The party wouldn't have been total without his apparition onscreen." Omega grinned.

"Oh my! He'll provide the fireworks, my shining knight?" Roll teased.

"No." He dully replied while looking rather unimpressed by her teasing.

"Tee, heh, heh." Roll giggled.

"Man." Omega sighed.

"I apologize, Mr. Vadous, but… We haven't been able to locate those persons." Mr. Denpa whispered to him.

"Don't mind it: we're celebrating today. There'll be plenty of time to handle that. And Twilight will be quiet for a while too."

"Oh. I got an email from Kinmori – kun… He's totally recovered by now and he'll be keeping on with life: that's good to see! He'll be strong and will be a nice person in the future." Tooru read.

"Everyone: this shouldn't stain our hopes or expectations for the summer ahead of us. Summer is a good time for everyone to reform their links which wore down during the stressful school year."

"That's true. And even Twilight will stay quiet too." Anderson smiled.

"Anderson – sama looks content…" Annihilator Man muttered.

"Will someone explain what does "grah" mean?" Guilty Spark asked.

"I guess he's gonna provide some nice humor." Enzan grinned.

"Vincent will sue him for stealing jokes." Blood Shadow sighed.

"Mwah, hah. He's gonna steal the spotlight off me." Sigma chuckled.

"True, true!" Several persons muttered.

"So… Summer… Excitement ensured!" Nelaus exclaimed.

"Yeah. The real adventure is about to start." Isaac grinned.

"Someone define "adventure"!" Guilty Spark protested.

"The funniest summer ever… It's just starting." Netto muttered.

"Welcome onboard the thrill train." Saito joked.

Everyone laughed in a jovial tone while Guilty Spark added a timid chuckle.

**THE END**


End file.
